


Episode 21 - Crisis of Faith

by stgjr



Series: "The Power of a Name" Series 3 - "Time Lord Penitent" [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Multi-Fandom, Star Trek
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Multiple Crossovers, Multiverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-30 08:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10872666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stgjr/pseuds/stgjr
Summary: Our narrator crashes his out-of-control TARDIS into Air Temple Island and discovers what the Red Lotus did to Korra





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on October 26th, 2014.

Panic does not make for good decision making. Otherwise I would have gotten Lucsly out of my TARDIS first before I shifted out.  
  
I hadn't, though. I'd let all of my panic and guilt lead me to an impulsive act, bringing Lucsly along. And now here I was, on the floor of the shaking TARDIS as it was being crushed by a pocket in the Time Vortex courtesy of my failed attempt to force my TARDIS against its own timestream and Lucsly's destructive reaction to what I was doing. If I didn't stop it, the TARDIS would be destroyed and generate a dimensional collapse event that would probably annihilate several innocent universes.  
  
I had seconds.  
  
Mere seconds.  
  
With a terrible effort that made my side explode in agony, I pulled myself up to the TARDIS controls and twisted the Regulator back to an opened setting. The power of the Time Vortex invigorated the TARDIS' failing engine. She started to sound normal again although the shaking did not subside. I shifted over, barely holding on, and pulled another lever to push the TARDIS out of the pocket. The rumbling picked up speed briefly while I held on for dear life.  
  
And then we were free. The TARDIS finished materializing.  
  
Unfortunately, she was also damaged. And, more to the point, Lucsly had ruined my effort to push the TARDIS against its own temporal anchor, meaning we hadn't gone back far enough. And not even in a stable three dimensional place either. The TARDIS materialized in the middle of the air and fell. I tried to take control but the systems were still damaged from what Lucsly had done. I barely had time to grab something before the TARDIS slammed into the ground.  
  
I ended up sprawled against the controls when the shaking subsided. I let out a groan of pain and forced myself to my feet. I pulled myself across the controls and across to a rail to get to where my cane had rolled after my altercation with Lucsly. He moaned started to sit up.  
  
The TARDIS door opened. I looked up. A boy with a bronze complexion looked at me with curiosity. He was wearing Airbender robes. Given the hair, he had to be one of the new ones. He stepped into the TARDIS and his eyes went wide at seeing the inside. "How is it bigger on the inside...?"  
  
"Kai!" I recognized her voice even before Jinora entered the TARDIS. She saw me as I steadied myself on my cane, undoubtedly looking scuffed up and a little ragged. "Doctor, what happened?"  
  
I had other things on my mind. "I'll explain later. What happened, Jinora? What happened to Korra?!"  
  
Her eyes fell a little into sadness. I thought my hearts would freeze. "Is she...?", I croaked.  
  
"She's alive." Jinora walked up to me. "The Red Lotus poisoned her so they could kill her in the Avatar State, but we stopped them."  
  
I let out a harsh breath. That would have permanently broken the Avatar cycle. Who were these people? "How is she?"  
  
My stomach felt sick at the look in Jinora's eyes. "I'll take you to see her."  
  
"What about him?" Kai pointed to Lucsly. He was starting to stand.  
  
"Watch him," I said. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Like touching the TARDIS." I saw a look flash over the boy's eyes. A regular urchin, the lad was. "Press the wrong button and a black hole could consume the entire Republic."  
  
The look shifted away. Good.  
  
Jinora led me into the buildings of Air Temple Island. "We were afraid something happened to you," Jinora said.  
  
"Something did," was the only reply I gave.  
  
We were nearing Korra's room in the ladies' dormitory on the island when I heard a distinct thump. Someone had just fallen onto the floor inside the room. I forced myself to limp faster and pushed away the pain flaring through my left hip. I was already becoming breathless when I got to the opening.  
  
I found Korra laid out on the ground, crying quietly.  
  
I noticed the wheelchair a moment later. It had been by the bed, but had swiveled away from it. Korra had been trying to lift herself into it with her arms just for the wheels to slip out from under her, turning the chair away and sending her falling to the floor.  
  
"No," I breathed, forcing breath into my lungs. "Korra..."  
  
She looked up at me, tears streaking down her face. She looked different, nothing at all like the youthful and fiery young Avatar I had first met. Bags had formed under her bleary eyes. Her expression had lost its vibrancy, her eyes no longer glittered with passion and confidence. I couldn't see even the slightest twitch of movement from her legs which lay unmoving on the floor. She lay curled up like a helpless child; spent and worn out.  
  
Not just spent. Broken. Broken and _crippled_ by what the Red Lotus had done to her.  
  
Had I been there... she wouldn't be like this. I would have tilted the balance. I would have figured out a way.  
  
But I hadn't been.  
  
"You're okay," she said softly. The pain in her face receded slightly, showing a hint of relief.  
  
I hobbled in and threw my cane to the side, getting on my knees to embrace her. "Why didn't you come?", she asked, crying softly. "You said you'd come..."  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I answered, tears filling my eyes. "It's all my fault."  
  
If I hadn't become the Time Lord Triumphant... if I hadn't become so wrapped up in my own despair as to use the Chameleon Arch on myself...  
  
Then I would have been there. I would have answered the call.  
  
But I hadn't been. I had failed my friend. I'd broken my promise to her.  
  
I might have asked for forgiveness... but I didn't.  
  
How could I?  
  
 _I didn't deserve it._  
  
  
  
  
Korra was laying out on her bed again. The others had arrived by this time, summoned by news of the TARDIS' arrival. Tenzin was standing to one side, nearest to me on the right. He was still showing signs of injuries from battle. His siblings were with him, both similarly showing signs of recovering from fighting the Red Lotus. I'd met Bumi before, when I brought Katherine as a young teenager to Republic City, but I hadn't the pleasure of meeting Kya. Her hair was gray but her expression still very youthful and fiery. They were joined by a middle-aged woman introduced to me as Suyin Beifong. Toph's younger daughter, I saw. I had accepted her greetings.  
  
To my left, Asami was sitting in a chair she'd pulled up to the bed and holding Korra's hand. Mako and Bolin were standing behind her. Neither had made eye contact with me since coming in. I didn't consider that a good sign.  
  
But who could blame them if they were angry with me? I'd told Korra I would come help. But I hadn't. I'd been absent for their desperate fight to save the world from Unalaq and Vaatu. And then I'd failed to show up when Korra had nearly been killed. My wounds didn't seem a proper excuse, since I should have made sure my communications station was shut down and couldn't receive calls.  
  
I hadn't realized what Lucsly and DTI had done.  
  
Speaking of Lucsly, he was by the door. I had cracked one of his kneecaps during our scuffle and he had been made to hobble all the way here. Kai and Jinora flanked him. The former eyed him with the suspicion that one would expect a former orphan thief to show an officer of the law.  
  
Lucsly's eyes were on me.  
  
I looked away from him and focused on Korra. She remained quiet. She wasn't looking at me, or at anyone really. I held up the sonic screwdriver and ran a medical scan. I let out a breath. "It's a metal compound with mercury as a base," I said.  
  
"I pulled it out," Suyin said, her tone disbelieving.  
  
"A few trace amounts remain," I explained. "They will have to be removed for Korra to have a chance at fully recovering. Otherwise it will continue to impair her body's functions."  
  
Suyin breathed out quietly and stepped up. She held her hands over Korra and concentrated. "Are you sure?", she asked. "Because I..." She went silent. "Oh. I'm sorry, Korra." Suyin nodded. "I feel it now. How did I miss it?"  
  
"It appears to be the parts of the compound that were more pure than the rest," I answered. "Metalbending, as I recall, involves an Earthbender feeling earthen impurities in metal and bending those impurities. You were undoubtedly in a rush given the sizable dose forced into Korra." I looked back to my readings. I could see just how big the dose had been given the pure, horrific _damage_ inflicted inside Korra's body, especially the nervous system. "You did save her life," I added, trying to assure her. "Don't blame yourself."  
  
"I'm not," Suyin answered. "But I'm not sure I can feel it enough to bend it all. I can't see it."  
  
I frowned, thinking. I contemplated the healing equipment I had on the TARDIS, but none off that included chelation agents to sweep the mercury out. I would have to take her to another cosmos for treatment.  
  
Then the idea came upon me.  
  
I held up the sonic with one hand and looked to Suyin. "Are you willing to trust me, Mrs. Beifong?"  
  
The feeling of the room coarsened at my words. Given what had happened, my trust wasn't going to go for much these days.  
  
But Suyin nodded. "If it will help Korra."  
  
I nodded. "I am going to relay the information from my scanner into your mind so you can see the metal. Is this okay?"  
  
Suyin swallowed and took a moment before nodding. I held up my right hand and pressed it to her face. My Time Lord mind reached out and gently pressed against her's. I didn't go into it. With the connection established I accessed my sonic again and found the results, which I relayed to Suyin through our telepathic contact.  
  
She went expressionless, focusing her will entirely on her bending. Her arms and hands moved over Korra and began to grasp. She moved the hands slowly over Korra. Small beads appeared on the surface of Korra's arms and moved toward her pores.  
  
Korra let out a scream and twisted her torso. It jolted us and I lost the connection to Suyin's mind. The beads that had already formed were pulled out of Korra's fingertips, forming silver globs of liquid-form metal hovering in mid-air. I looked to Asami. "A container, now! Nobody must touch it! The poison will absorb into your body through the skin."  
  
Asami held out an empty water bowl. Suyin lowered the globs into it passed it back to Kya to be brought out of the way. Korra panted on the bed with sweat forming on her forehead. I used the sonic again. "We got some out," I said. "About half." I exhaled harshly. "But pulling it out by metalbending is causing trauma to Korra's tissues. We need to let her rest before we try again." I extended a hand toward Korra. "Just rest for now, Korra. We'll see to your needs."  
  
Her face was an emotionless mask. She didn't look toward me or any of the others, choosing to instead stare at the ceiling.  
  
"I think it's best if we gave Korra some space while she rests," Tenzin said softly. "We should all go."  
  
  
  
  
We took to the crisp summer air of Air Temple Island at an outside courtyard. Pema had led the culinary staff in preparing a proper Air Nation dinner table, which meant no meats. Everyone was invited to take food. I wasn't hungry, so I took none.  
  
Well, okay, I was a little hungry, but I didn't feel any appetite.  
  
As eating gave way to quiet conversation I became aware that I was not a part of any conversation. I swept my eyes from person to person. None met my eyes.  
  
None until Asami, at least.  
  
She was with the brothers, Tenzin, and Kya, quietly discussing things. She stood and motioned to me. "Doctor?"  
  
I ventured over, hobbling along briskly with the help of my cane. "Asami." I nodded. "I... don't go by that name anymore."  
  
She blinked. "Oh? Why?"  
  
"Because..." I swallowed. "It's a long story, Asami. And because of it, i came to realize the name was not something I should continue to use. I... I'm not sure what to call myself now."  
  
"I see." Again, Asami was the only one talking, although Tenzin's expression made it clear he wasn't opposed to the idea either. "Who is that man who came with you? And where is Katherine?"  
  
I couldn't hide the pain her name caused me. I blinked back a tear. "Katherine is... an assassin killed her and her mother some time ago."  
  
Asami's face fell. Tenzin brought his hand up and put it on my shoulder. "You have our condolences," he said in a reassuring tone. "I can't imagine the pain you've gone through."  
  
"Thank you," I said quietly. "I... haven't had the easiest time lately." I looked over to where Lucsly was standing alone, surveying the scene with clear aggravation. "As for my unexpected travel companion, his name is Gariff Lucsly. He's an agent of the Federation's Department of Temporal Investigations. In short, he's a government agent charged with stopping time travelers and protecting the flow of time. And I'm a time traveler who can alter events if I'm saving lives. We... don't get along, you might say." I swallowed. "As a young man he saw me at my lowest and most terrible point. And it's colored his perception of me since, so he hasn't stopped chasing me..."  
  
"Oh, boo hoo."  
  
There was real venom in Bolin's voice as he mocked me with those words. I turned my head to face him. His green eyes blazed with disappointment and anger. "You're not the only one who's lost people," he said. "Mako and I lost our family. But we keep living our lives and do what we can. We _don't_ forget to look out for each other and we don't leave each other hanging."  
  
"Bolin..." Asami gave him a worried look.  
  
But it didn't stop him. He stepped up to me, glaring up as our eyes met. "Whenever you've shown up, we were there to help you. My brother got tossed off a building by an oversized goat-gorilla because of you, but we didn't let that stop us from being your friend. But when we were fighting for our lives and Korra was being hurt... _you weren't there_. The one time it was _we_ who needed _you_ , you didn't show up! You didn't help! And now Korra is hurt and can't use her legs! All because _you didn't come to help_. So take your self-pity and... and... go jump in the bay for all I care!"  
  
Tenzin was left speechless by the outburst. "Bolin!", Asami said, shocked.  
  
Given the look in his eyes, I suspected Mako felt much like his younger brother.  
  
I pursed my lips. Every word had been like a stake being driven into my hearts, reminding me of my own horrific failure. I drew in a breath and looked away from him in shame. "You're right," I said. "I should have been there. And it's my fault I wasn't." I turned and walked away.  
  
I found myself standing at the edge of the courtyard looking out over Yue Bay. It was the kind of sight that might make someone feel better. But how could I? The wounds I received from the Borg Queen were not an excuse. This was because I had become Time Lord Triumphant. It was causing pain and anguish to those I called friends.  
  
"He's just upset."  
  
I turned and saw Asami walk up. "After we realized how badly Korra was hurt, well, we've taken it hard, all of us."  
  
"He's right to be angry at me," I said. "I should have been there."  
  
"You've been hurt," Asami pointed out. "What happened? Why weren't you able to come when Korra called?"  
  
I briefly explained how the calls to the TARDIS worked. Asami was a bright young woman and understood the basics easily. "So whenever a call gets through to the TARDIS, it fixes the TARDIS to our point in time?"  
  
"Not just your point in time, but you specifically, and the events going on around you," I elaborated. "I can't go back into my own timestream or the TARDIS' timestream, and this effect sets the TARDIS timestream." I swallowed. "I tried anyway, but Lucsly stopped me and we crashed on this day instead."  
  
"But, why did you leave the comm system on for so long when you weren't in the TARDIS?', she asked.  
  
"I didn't," I replied. "Agent Lucsly and his organization saw fit to re-assemble it while I was convalescing."  
  
A frown came to her face. "So this was really Lucsly's fault?"  
  
"Only if it had worked," I said. "I was desperate to make it work, but I'm not sure it would have."  
  
"Still, that means it wasn't your fault."  
  
" _Yes it was_ ," I insisted. "It _was_ my fault, Asami. I became the Time Lord Triumphant. I abused my power. And then I ran away from it to escape the pain."  
  
Her eyes showed sympathy more than anything. "She will get better, don't worry," Asami insisted.  
  
"I'll make sure of it," I grumbled.  
  
At this point I noticed a ship putting in at the dock. "So, who is visiting today?"  
  
"Oh, that's Korra's father, coming back from meeting with President Raiko," Asami answered. "And a couple of the Air Nomad leaders who are living in the Eastern Temple. That's actually interesting, the Nomads we rescued have never sent a group like this to us before."  
  
"Possibly some victory celebrations to be commended, then."  
  
"I don't think so." Asami shook her head. "There have been a few issues with the Air Nomads since we set them up. They've had fights with Tenzin over a lot of his plans for the Air Nation."  
  
"Another unexpected consequence of a good deed," I murmured. I watched men file off the boat. Tonraq wasn't hard to spot, given his official entourage. President Raiko was with him, along with two older men in Air Nomad robes. They were both on the thin side. One looked to be in his sixties or vibrant seventies without a single strand of hair on his head or face. The other was clearly an octogenarian. A wispy white beard pointed down from his chin. From the distance I could see that his face was screwed up in a distinctly irritated look as his eyes looked about the island.  
  
By this point Tenzin had been informed of their arrival and was walking down to greet them with Jinora at his side. For lack of anything better to do, I hobbled along to join him. The distance and the need to traverse stairs in my state meant they were well into conversation by the time I arrived.  
  
"...is unacceptable," the elder Nomad spat. "It is not our way. And... and making this child a Master without seeking out our counsel..."  
  
I narrowed my eyes as I came down the last steps. The clack of my cane on the stone walkway drew their attention easily. The two old Nomads looked to me and bowed gracefully. "Our greetings to you, kind Doctor," the younger of the two said.  
  
"Gentlemen." I searched my memory for their faces. I distinctly recalled their recoveries; the eldest came from the Northern Temple and the other man from the Eastern. But I hadn't gotten their names. "I apologize, I don't think we were properly introduced. I am... a Time Lord, whom you know as the Doctor."  
  
The two men blinked for a moment, undoubtedly understanding what I was saying regarding my name. "Master Time Lord, I am Phuntsok," the elder Nomad said.  
  
"And I am Dorje," the other said.  
  
"Sirs." I bowed my head respectfully. I looked beyond them to a middle-aged man in Water Tribe garb. It was not hard to guess it was Tonraq. "Chief Tonraq, I wish our meeting had been under more agreeable circumstances."  
  
Tonraq looked at me with equal parts interest and disappointment before nodding. He said nothing, but the chill in his demeanor was enough to know he was not happy with me either. I could not find this surprising.  
  
"I do apologize for interrupting you gentlemen," I stated.  
  
"It is no trouble," Tenzin said. "It was just a mild disagreement."  
  
Phuntsok turned back to him. "Mild? You are turning against everything our people are meant to be. The purpose of Air mastery is freedom of the spirit, not becoming soldiers to guard the world!"  
  
I blinked. "Pardon?"  
  
Dorje showed no emotion. "Master Tenzin has proposed to us that Airbenders act to safeguard the world during the Avatar's recovery."  
  
"It is not our way!", Phuntsok insisted. "And granting Mastery to a child in these conditions? His own daughter? There is no justification."  
  
Jinora looked hurt by that, but had the maturity to say nothing.  
  
"Jinora helped Korra defeat Vaatu," Asami said, speaking up for her friend. "She led the Airbender students into creating a tornado!"  
  
"You mean she turned our bending arts into a weapon," Phuntsok retorted.  
  
"I had to in order to save Korra," Jinora insisted, joining the conversation.  
  
The older Nomad fixed a glare at her and then at Tenzin. And then he threw his hands into the air. "You will not listen. When the Master Time Lord rescued us, I had hoped it would allow us to show your world what it meant to be an Air Nomad. But it's clear to me that the damage has been done. And I will not stand by and allow your ways to corrupt our's."  
  
"Phuntsok..." Dorje put a hand on his shoulder. "Hold your temper, please. It is clear that this world has changed since Fire Lord Sozin's war. Master Tenzin is doing what he must to protect the world."  
  
"And that is precisely my problem," Phuntsok said. "It is not the place of the Air Nomads to police the world. _It is not our way._."  
  
"I understand your concerns, sir," I said, my voice low. "But one thing I have learned in my travels is that Change is a part of living. In the long run, no force can stop it. I have surveyed millennia, eons, of history pass for Humanity in all of its guises, and the only thing that does not change is the nature of Humans."  
  
Phuntsok turned to me. But he couldn't keep the anger in his voice now. It was clear that whatever he thought of this world, he was grateful to me personally. "I see your point, Master Time Lord," he conceded. "But it pains me to see my people's ways perverted."  
  
"From what I hear, this Zaheer fellow was even worse."  
  
Phuntsok's eyes flashed at the name. "Yes," he agreed. "To commit murder with our arts. It sickens me." His eyes lowered. "I grow weary from all of the hustle and bustle of this place. May I be taken to my room?"  
  
"Of course." Tenzin nodded to an Air Acolyte who was carrying simple, Air-colored bags. "Take our guests to their dorm, Chodak."  
  
"Yes sir," Chodak said. He hefted the bags. "Please sirs, follow me."  
  
They went past. Tonraq did a moment later, not bothering to look at me as he did. I drew in a sigh and looked out on the Bay again. I did not move as everyone left the quay.  
  
"Are you well?"  
  
I turned my head. Jinora was standing beside me. "No," I admitted. "I am not."  
  
"It has been hard." Jinora sighed. "My father loved that you brought Nomads to our time to save their culture. But he's had to fight with the oldest of them over our place in the world."  
  
"What's this about Airbenders protecting the world?"  
  
"It's until Korra recovers. We're going to announce it soon."  
  
"Ah." I nodded. And I forced a smile to my lips. "Congratulations, by the way. Your grandfather would be proud to see you getting your tattoos at such a young age."  
  
"Thank you," was her simple answer. "Do you want to talk?"  
  
"Not at the moment," I said.  
  
She nodded and respected my choice. I was alone at the quay.  
  
Had even my best intentions caused trouble? I had saved the Air Nomads to preserve their people since, frankly, I hadn't a bloody clue Convergence would restore the Airbenders' numbers. And Korra had needed a victory after what happened in Harry's cosmos and the fate of poor Dustin.  
  
But now the Air Nation was suffering internal disputes. Phuntsok was clearly opposed to Tenzin. And he had seniority, it seemed. Could the Air Nation become splintered over this?  
  
Had my good deed backfired? Like so many others.  
  
I took in a breath. Maybe Lucsly was right. Maybe... I shouldn't act at all.  
  
 _That is preposterous_ , a voice in my head said. _Life should be defended._  
  
Finally I sighed and went back to the stairs. I needed time to think this out. And to find a way to heal Korra more easily. She had suffered enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our narrator continues trying to heal Korra, and must face his failure in the process.

It was the afternoon when Suyin and I tried again. We managed to get another portion of the metallic poison out of Korra before her cries prompted us to stop. I had retrieved some painkillers from the TARDIS and gave them to Korra before we left. Dinner time was coming soon and I had become famished enough to eat.  
  
So I joined the night's dinner. It was a VIP dinner. "Where is Avatar Korra?", Dorje asked as the meals were handed out. "I was hoping we could congratulate her for the victory over Zaheer."  
  
"She needs rest due to her injuries," Kya said, taking the question as the waterbending healer present. She looked to me and Suyin. We shook our heads.  
  
"Ah. A pity." Dorje sighed.  
  
Phuntsok glowered. "She is incapable. Thick-headed, foolish, without any of the spiritual strength an Avatar requires. Whomever is responsible for her education has failed the world."  
  
That earned the elder Air Nomad the angry looks of her closest friends. Tenzin remained diplomatic. "We had to keep her isolated to protect her from the Red Lotus. I'm afraid that didn't make it easy to properly teach her."  
  
"Hmph." Phuntsok shook his head. "This era has much to be desired."  
  
"I heard about the White Lotus in our time," Dorje said. "But they were secretive. Not at all public like in this era. To think that they could split like they have..."  
  
"Changes usually cause those against them to act in defense of the status quo and whatever they consider to be proper tradition." I let my idle musing hover in the air for the moment. "Whomever they are, the Red Lotus will come to regret what they've done." I couldn't keep the subtle rumble of anger out of my voice. I had ways to deal with them. I was considering it, for Korra's sake. I may not be holding the name of the Doctor anymore, but I still felt obligations to those beings I called friends.  
  
"I am concerned." President Raiko put his hands together on the table. "If this organization is as widespread as has been claimed, could there be more of them? They may try to attack the Avatar again, or other world leaders."  
  
It would have been impolite to make any mention of the self-serving nature of Raiko's voiced concern. Tenzin gave a small nod. "The White Lotus are going to help track down any further Red Lotus infiltrators. We will have to be on our guard, though."  
  
The dinner continued. Politics, and the need to discuss the issue with the chaos of the Earth Kingdom, dominated. Toward the end of it I finally gave vent to my curiosity and asked, "Does anyone know where Agent Lucsly has gone off to?"  
  
"He's taking dinner in your ship," Pema answered. "He said something about 'not contaminating our culture with further contact'."  
  
I facepalmed at that. "That sounds like him."  
  
"What is his concern?", Raiko asked.  
  
"The good Agent Lucsly is a police official of the United Federation of Planets," I answered. "They have a Prime Directive, a law that forbids contact with species and cultures they consider insufficiently advanced and which forbids intervention in the affairs of others."  
  
"A good philosophy," Phuntsok remarked. "Meddling in the affairs of others can lead one astray."  
  
I didn't react to that. Jinora, however, was quick to point out the obvious. "But that's what we did when we rescued you from the Fire Nation's attacks. If we hadn't come to help, you would have been killed."  
  
Phuntsok opened his mouth to speak but held back. "That was a rare occasion when it was acceptable."  
  
"Then clearly..."  
  
I admit I allowed their argument to fade into the background. Phuntsok clearly wrestled with having to debate with a young girl as if she were an equal, but Jinora was quite well read and intelligent and he couldn't easily refute her. I finished my meal and stood. "I need to check on my TARDIS. Excuse me."  
  
"Oh, Doctor." Pema held up a plate. "Would you mind taking this to Korra first? I know she's resting, but she needs to eat."  
  
I nodded briskly and accepted the plate.  
  
  
  
  
When I got to Korra's room she was asleep. I set the food down on a tray by her bed without making a further sound. Given the bags under her eyes and the fatigue she had shown, she needed her sleep.  
  
But as I walked past, she started to writhe in place. I stopped and waited to see if she would stir. As the wait lengthened I could see a faint sheen of sweat forming on her forehead with little beads becoming evident.  
  
She was having a nightmare.  
  
I reached my right hand to her face and made contact. I closed my eyes and gently reached for her mind. I sought to give her solace or at least to see what tormented her so.  
  
And so I experienced what she did. The agony of the metal poison forced into her arms and legs by Zaheer's metalbender. I heard the voices of Amon, of Unalaq, of Vaatu, and of Zaheer. Taunting her, saying she wasn't needed...  
  
I felt her sorrow at losing her connection to Aang and the Avatars that came before her.  
  
The imagery shifted. I saw Korra on a ledge of brown, earthy color. One of the canyons of the Northern Earth Kingdom, it looked like. Her eyes were lit with the power of the Avatar State. Her pant legs were rolled up to her knees and her hair was loose and wild. I looked over to see a bald man in brown hovering nearby. I noticed the scar that interrupted his left eyebrow, a distinctive feature. He wrapped his arms around repeatedly; he was airbending.  
  
Zaheer, I presumed.  
  
I could feel the currents of air forming around Korra, binding her in place. At her shoulders the air currents moved upward and surrounded her head. A vacuum formed within the sphere. And now I could _feel_ it; Korra's lungs burned with hot agony and her body screamed for air as Zaheer finished ripping it from her lungs. The poison within her was agony enough.  
  
The pain shot into me and for a moment I thought I was the one without air. I gasped and coughed, my lungs desperate to breathe....  
  
Korra screamed.  
  
The connection broke as she woke up, sitting upright with a start. I stumbled back, terminating the telepathic connection. For a moment she sat there panting. Her eyes narrowed from her mental exhaustion.  
  
Anger burned inside of me. The Avatar was this world's guardian. A spirit meant to keep balance in the world for the good of all. That this movement sought to kill her - not just to kill her but to destroy the Avatar itself - was a sign of how dangerous they were.  
  
Guilt burned as well. _I should have been there._  
  
Korra seemed to notice me. She looked over. "I felt you in there," she said wearily.  
  
"I was hoping to help you endure the nightmare," I answered. "I... I didn't realize what had happened."  
  
Korra eyed her meal sitting on the tray. I brought it over to her. As she started to eat I pulled up a spare chair and sat in it. I kept my expression subdued and said nothing. She ate the entire plate in record time; she was famished. Given the abuse her body had suffered lately and the continued strain of the metal still in her body... she needed those calories.  
  
I kept my eyes low while she ate. When she was done I moved the tray away and offered her more water. As I picked up the water pitcher I saw an object on the nightstand by her bed. It was the temporal beacon device I had given her that allowed her to contact the TARDIS. Looking at it reminded me of my failure.  
  
Korra finished the offered water and looked at me with her bloodshot, sleep-deprived eyes. "He almost killed me," she said. "They both did."  
  
I nodded briskly. "Vaatu and Zaheer."  
  
"I waited for you to come," she said quietly. "I thought that any minute, I'd hear your TARDIS."  
  
My gut wrenched. "I know," I said, my voice a hoarse whisper. "I'm sorry."  
  
She eyed my cane, still at my side. "What happened?"  
  
"I went bad," I admitted. "I... became arrogant and conceited. I lost my balance. I was stopped from going too far by Nerys, who almost died to wake me up."  
  
She nodded. "That was when you showed up the last time."  
  
"Yes." I kept my eyes low. "I was too ashamed to talk about it much. It's why I left like I did. I couldn't face you or the others." My lip quivered as the pain came to bear inside me. "I've stopped using the name of the Doctor. It wouldn't be right to keep it. I had no identity and it drove me mad with pain. So I... I sealed myself away."  
  
She was quiet as I explained who John Smith-Stevens was. I told about his sacrifice, bringing me back to stop the Borg. And how I was savagely wounded by the Borg Queen before I defeated them. "And then, to top it all off, DTI restored the TARDIS' communication panel while I was recovering," I sighed. "And I wasn't there to take your calls."  
  
Her face remained neutral. "That doesn't matter, does it?", she said quietly.  
  
"No," I answered. "I still walked away. John Smith-Stevens would never have been able to help you."  
  
"You... abandoned us," Korra continued. "You abandoned everything."  
  
"I'm sorry," was all I could say, although I was now repeating myself.  
  
When I lifted my eyes to look into hers, I saw something other than anger. Anger from feeling betrayed I could have dealt with. It would have hurt, but it would have been something I could live with.  
  
But that wasn't it.  
  
The look in her eyes told me that my failure to come had helped to _break_ her. For all that she suffered, the betrayal of my word to come help her had contributed to the breaking of her spirit. Her faith had been utterly shattered.  
  
And it had hurt her beyond any expectation I'd had.  
  
Realization came to me. Korra had grown up knowing she was the Avatar. She was the fulcrum on which the world would balance. She was the Most Important Person in the World. Millions looked up to her. They felt hope in her existence, belief in her ability to fix the problems of the world. It was a great responsibility.  
  
Then I came along.  
  
Suddenly the shoe was on the other foot. It was Korra looking up to another being. It was Korra feeling wonder for the power of a Time Lord and having the wanderlust building up inside her tantalized by the promise of the TARDIS and what it could do. The world had looked up to her and she... she had started to look up to me. The man with the magic box who could go anywhere in the reaches of Creation.  
  
And so in her moments of need, she had called out to me. And she had felt faith that I would appear, as promised, to stand beside her against the dark forces threatening her world... threatening her.  
  
But I had not come.  
  
And now she had heard, from my own words, that I was not the being she had thought I was.  
  
The truth hurts. And I had wounded her with it. I hadn't realized how deeply it might cut, for her to know I was not some demi-god but a being who could fall into arrogance, make terrible mistakes, and ultimately succumb to despair and abandon my promises and responsibilities.  
  
I realized, utterly too late, that I had just wounded Korra again.  
  
"I need to be alone," she said, on the verge of tears.  
  
"I'm here for you now," I assured her. "I..."  
  
"Please... just leave." She laid back on the bed, her baggy eyes staring at the ceiling, looking utterly lost.  
  
"Korra..."  
  
" _Just go!_ "  
  
Angrily she swept one of her arms at me. A gust of wind rushed from it and slammed into my chest. It struck with enough force that I lost my footing and stumbled backward, finally falling and hitting the opposite wall. I gasped and let out a groan, trying to get to my feet. I had to crawl to get to my cane. I struggled to my feet and looked over to see Korra had turned her head away from me to face the wall. I said nothing, ignoring the tear forming in my eye and moving toward the door.  
  
As I walked out, I heard soft sobbing coming from the bedroom.  
  
  
  
  
I returned to the TARDIS again. The repairs were proceeding apace. I found Lucsly sitting quietly to one side. He was giving the controls a wide berth. "How much longer?", he asked sullenly.  
  
"A day or two," I said. I hobbled my way to the stairs and sat on them, facing Lucsly to my right. "You are a smart man, Lucsly, but it seems that whenever I'm involved you lose your temper."  
  
"You are the antithesis of everything I believe in," he reminded me. "You change timelines at your whim."  
  
"I save lives," I countered. "And I intend to stay far away from major timeline shifting. I've learned that lesson bitterly enough."  
  
Lucsly rolled his eyes. "That explains your intention to break into your device's timestream just now, right?"  
  
I glowered in reply. "Korra is my friend. I thought she could be dead, so yes, you're damned right I did that. To _save my friend_."  
  
"You can't just change things to save friends either," Lucsly retorted.  
  
"I wouldn't have had to if you... you _idiots_ hadn't meddled in my TARDIS." I pointed a finger at him.  
  
He said nothing at first. "I've been listening to conversations around this island," he said, changing the subject. "These older men of the 'Nomads' sound like they're going to tear this culture apart. You brought them back from the past, right."  
  
I nodded. "Yes. I gathered allies and saved a few survivors of the Air Nomads. Without altering the timeline."  
  
"Ah." Lucsly fixed a look at me. "And now because of your meddling, an entire culture is about to be ripped in half."  
  
"If they split, it will not be violent," I predicted. "Besides, are you saying I should have left hundreds of children to be burned to death, Lucsly?"  
  
I didn't yell the question. Instead I enjoyed the look of revulsion on Lucsly's face. Whatever his beliefs on time travel, Lucsly was not a monster. The thought of such atrocities was as sickening to him as it was to me. "Sometimes horrible things happen in history," he said quietly. "It's not easy to imagine not helping the victims. But sometimes..."  
  
"Oh please." I rolled my eyes. "You're prevaricating. Agent Lucsly, tell me this straightly. Given a chance, would you leave a child to be burned alive simply because it was a 'historic event'? Would you stand there and listen to the child's screams of terror and pain until the end? And if you did, could you still look at yourself in the mirror?"  
  
Lucsly licked at his lips. "It's a complicated question..."  
  
A new voice chimed in. "No, actually, it's quite simple."  
  
We looked over to the door. Jinora entered and looked to Lucsly. "You are against changes to the flow of history because of how terrible they can become," Jinora said calmly. "I understand that. The question is if your position is more important than the lives of people who would die if you don’t act?"  
  
Lucsly opened his mouth to speak and stopped. He stood up. "I've had this debate hundreds of times, young lady," he said respectfully. "It's not easy to say who lives or dies. And saving lives is a good thing. But saving one life and causing the deaths of ten down the road isn't a good thing, and that's why I feel the way I do. The evils of the present are bad enough without well-meaning fools changing the past and making things worse." He gave me a look before heading to the door, undoubtedly to head to the dorm Tenzin had assigned him to get some sleep.  
  
Jinora and I were alone in the TARDIS after he left. "I've lost Korra's faith," I said, finally. "I told her everything and it broke her heart."  
  
"Can you tell me?", Jinora asked.  
  
I didn't want to. It was painful. But Jinora looked determined and I liked the young girl for her intelligence and spirit. So I told her. About the Time Lord Triumphant. And about John Smith-Stevens.  
  
There was no sign of emotion in her face. "I see." She nodded at me. "You tried to come, though. You tried to make up for it."  
  
I didn't answer.  
  
"And what name do you want now?", she asked.  
  
"None," i answered. "I... I can't imagine another name."  
  
"Oh. Well..." She closed the distance and gave me a hug. "To me, you're always going to be the Doctor."  
  
I closed my eyes and breathed out at that. But I didn't rebuke her for it. "It's a dangerous name," was all I said.  
  
After the short hug ended she went to leave. Before she closed the TARDIS door, Jinora turned. "Doctor? I... would you be willing to attend my ceremony?"  
  
"You mean your Airbending Mastery ceremony?"  
  
"Yes." She smiled gently. "I'd like it if you were there."  
  
I sighed. Truth be told, I had planned on leaving as soon as the TARDIS let me. To drop off Lucsly and then go do... something. Staying here felt more like torment now.  
  
But there was an earnestness in Jinora's expression that I couldn't deny. And... oh, why not? It would be a grand historic occasion. I enjoyed those.  
  
So I smiled. "I'll be honored," I said.  
  
She smiled back and nodded, closing the TARDIS door. I looked around and realized I should get to work on the repairs. It would give me something to do to occupy my mind, and forget that horrible look in Korra's eyes when she realized how far I'd fallen. I wondered if I would end up regretting staying that long.  
  
I had no idea, at the time, that it was a good thing I did.  
  
If I hadn't... if I had left... then I would have failed Korra again.  
  
If I hadn't stayed... then Korra would have had just three days to live.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will our narrator be ready for a new Red Lotus attack on Korra?

I spent the days leading up to the ceremony alternating between repairs on the TARDIS and helping Suyin with Korra, with a couple of sessions with Kya that finished the healing on my injured left side to the point I no longer needed the cane. We were finishing up an attempt the evening before the ceremony without success. The trace metals were too pure and too miniscule for Suyin's control to grip. And the dosage was still high enough to impede Korra's recovery.  
  
We reported this at the evening meal with Tenzin. He took the news silently. "Perhaps Lin can help?"  
  
Suyin's face twisted into a slight smile. The kind that comes from sibling rivalry. "We're about the same in power," she said, "but I'm not sure Lin's control is any better than mine. My mother might have managed it."  
  
"And where is the good Eldest Beiphong?", I asked.  
  
"Off on a spiritual journey, or so she said," was Suyin's reply. "I'm not sure where we could find her."  
  
"And the odds of another metalbender we can trust?"  
  
She shrugged. "There are a few at my level, I'm just not sure any would have the right amount of control." Suyin shook her head. "Korra could possibly do it herself. But she's..." The sentence was left unsaid.  
  
"Sir." Tenzin looked to me, consciously avoiding my old name. "I know you have access to technology beyond our own. Do you have anything that could help?"  
  
I drew in a breath. "There are medical options. Chelation therapy, the introduction of chemicals into Korra's body that bond with mercury and will sweep it out. But they can be toxic to the body over time. The safer alternative will require bringing Korra to another cosmos for treatment." I put my hands together in front of me. "It can be done, but only when the TARDIS is fully repaired. And if we're taking her, I can just as easily arrange further treatment to help undo the nerve damage that the mercury has inflicted on her body. It would speed up her recovery time."  
  
"You told me that taking Korra out of our cosmos is potentially dangerous to the Avatar Spirit," Tenzin said.  
  
"Yes. I'm not sure the Avatar Spirit could make its way back if something happened to Korra." I shrugged. "Although it is possible. The TARDIS could hold the spirit, perhaps, and let me bring it back." I rubbed at my forehead. "I wouldn't allow anything to happen to her regardless."  
  
Tenzin nodded.  
  
Before our conversation could continue, the door opened. The Air Acolyte Chodak came in, bowed, and stepped aside to admit Phuntsok and Dorje. The elder Air Nomads nodded respectfully, or at least formally in the former's case. "Master Tenzin." Phuntsok. "I have come to you again to plead for your reconsideration of this step. If you name your daughter a master, it will cause division within the Air Nomads. And your plans to use Airbenders to police the world in the place of the Avatar..."  
  
That prompted a sigh from Tenzin. "I have considered your arguments, Phuntsok. And I rejected them, for reasons I laid out to you. You are allowing your own dislike with our era to impede your judgement."  
  
Phuntsok frowned. "I shall depart tomorrow. I will not witness this debasement of our people. As far as I am concerned, your followers are _not_ of the Air Nomads." He turned on his heel and stormed out.  
  
Dorje did not move. I could see the twitch of disagreement in his expression but he kept it hidden as best he could. "I was hoping you might discuss it, Master Tenzin," he said.  
  
"We have discussed it at length. As you well know." Tenzin lowered his eyes. "The world is not the one you left behind. I had hoped that you, of all people, could see that. But that doesn't mean the core of our people cannot remain the same."  
  
"I do not think Phuntsok agrees. I... will have to meditate on this." With that final concession Dorje walked out.  
  
Tenzin groaned with frustration. "I do not regret what you did for us," he said. "But I wish it had gone more smoothly."  
  
"So do I," I said. I looked back to the door and frowned.  
  
  
  
  
After dinner I was walking along the outside, looking at the golden skyline of the city. Spirit vines now encompassed much of the city, adding to the exotic feeling of the city. I looked out and watched the White Lotus guards changing shifts. It looked like there were more than there had been before.  
  
Understandable, I supposed, if the Red Lotus were still active. If they were still a threat.  
  
I heard footsteps to my side and turned. Asami was approaching me. "Are you still living out here?", I asked curiously.  
  
"For now," she answered. "I want to be here for Korra."  
  
I nodded. "She needs someone to be there for her. I certainly wasn't." I lowered my eyes. "Do you wish to talk?"  
  
"I thought you might," she said. "I remember when you told us about Janias and Camilla. It hurt you more than you let on. And Katherine..."  
  
"I am moving on from that pain," I said, not terribly convincing in my tone.  
  
"How long have you been alone?"  
  
I swallowed. I thought back and realized that it was quite a lot of time. Over a year, certainly, including my run as the Time Lord Triumphant and my attempts to fix that mess before I put myself in the fob watch. For obvious reasons I didn't count John's existence. "Long enough," I managed. "I've been alone with my loss and grief for so long I'm used to it."  
  
"You don't have anyone willing to travel with you?", she asked.  
  
"None that I've found." I sighed. "I admit that, as much as I fear losing Companions again... I would enjoy the company again. My friends are the only thing I have left."  
  
Asami looked like she was about to speak. Her green eyes seemed to glisten for a moment. But she held back at the last moment. "You'll find someone, I'm sure," she said, her voice low and halting.  
  
"I suppose, eventually."  
  
We said nothing more until she continued on her way. I returned to my TARDIS to resume repairs and eventually get some rest.  
  
  
  
  
The next day I was dressed in a fresh suit and standing with the others for Jinora's ceremony. I was invited to the front and left of the stage to stand alongside Lin, Suyin, Pema, the brothers, and Raiko. I attempted to turn them down but Pema was fiercely insistent and I acquiesced.  
  
The ceremony was beautiful and endearing. As the chimes were gently struck by the air channeled from the other Airbenders on the stage, Jinora shed her hood to show her bald head and the arrow tattoo that had been placed upon it. I felt a genuine smile at her accomplishment and nodded toward her. At that age... she looked remarkably like her grandfather.  
  
Tenzin continued speaking. This was where he committed his Airbenders to take up Korra's duties while she recovered. I forced myself to keep the smile on my face. He meant well. But as I looked to Korra and saw the tear go down her cheek, I went back to those nightmares I had felt within her. Her foes had attacked her as the Avatar. They had challenged the need for her. They had justified their brutality against her in that way, and Korra had suffered at their hands.  
  
And now her mentor, by trying to reassure her that she could take her time in recovering, was saying the same thing.  
  
Or, at least, that was how it would sound to a traumatized young woman who's very identity was being challenged.  
  
And that was something I had some recent and powerful experience with.  
  
As the ceremony ended I found myself alone with Lin. "I talked to your friend Agent Lucsly," she said.  
  
"Well, he is one of yours, spiritually," I remarked.  
  
"Yes. And he's got a good point on the issue of interfering in events." Her face was blank as she looked at me. But her eyes welled with emotion. "But whenever I see Korra in the wheelchair I start to disagree. If you could have prevented that, it would be worth it. And from what Asami says, he's the reason you didn't."  
  
"I don't blame him, it was a foolhardy risk on my part," I said quietly. "The truth is, Chief Beifong, that I bear sole responsibility for my failure to aid you against the Red Lotus. I gave in to my pain and abrogated all of the responsibilities I had taken on." My breath quivered from the pain in my chest. "I failed everyone from the moment I became the Time Lord Triumphant. I didn't deserve to stand here today."  
  
Lin's expression softened. "You don't realize how wrong you are," she said, her voice low and quiet. "When you took them back in time and rescued those Air Nomads, you gave such hope to Tenzin that I had never seen him so relaxed. You took the burden of rebuilding the Air Nation off his shoulders. His quarreling with them doesn't matter in the long run. What does is that the Air Nation is being restored. And that is because of you." She brought her hand up and touched it to my shoulder. "You'll make good on your mistakes, Doctor. That I'm confident in."  
  
I didn't protest her use of the old name. With a nod and a small smile, she walked out as well, leaving me alone.  
  
  
  
  
The sky was dark by the time the reception had ended. President Raiko, Chief Tonraq, and Tenzin were gathered around the central table, discussing the situation in the Earth Kingdom with Lord Zuko. The old abdicated Fire Lord had exchanged greetings with me earlier. I had resisted mightily the temptation to inquire about his tastes in tea, since even in my doldrums I did have occasional flashes of happier thoughts and times coming through.  
  
There was movement beside me. I turned and watched Bolin walk up. "Uh, hey, Doc..." He fidgeted. "About the other day..."  
  
I smiled gently. "You were right to be angry, Bolin. There are no hard feelings." I offered a hand. He took it. "So, what's this I have heard about you finding a lovely young Airbender...?"  
  
A blush started appearing on his face. "Oh, Opal. Yeah."  
  
"Did you really throw her mother out of the way to give her a hug?", I asked, my smile growing. I admit I was feeling a tad... impish.  
  
He shuffled his feet. "Uh, yeah, I did."  
  
"Indeed. Well, here's hoping it all goes well for you."  
  
I patted him on the shoulder.  
  
And the wall _exploded_.  
  
The chamber we were in had been facing one side of Air Temple Island. The wall on that side exploded inward, striking attendees with chunks of broken stone. The thunder echoed in my ears and Bolin let out a cry of surprise. Out of habit I reached down for my sonic disruptor.  
  
It wasn't there. I had left it in the TARDIS.  
  
The figures that entered were clad in dark green combat robes with metal guards on their upper arms and forearms. Red turbans brimmed with dark brown sashes on the crown of the head were prominent upon them. They attacked with the swiftness of a trained unit, flinging stone and fireballs and water in all directions at our assembly.  
  
"It's the Red Lotus!", Lin shouted. "Protect the President!" She stepped in front of him and assumed a fighting stance, deflecting thrown stones. Tenzin was at her side a moment later, re-directing flames with gusts of air.  
  
Mako and Bolin jumped to the forefront alongside Suyin, launching an immediate counter-attack of sufficient ferocity that a lesser foe might have been staggered and thrown back out. But the Red Lotus were better trained than that. Their Earthbenders and Waterbenders switched to the defense immediately.  
  
The attackers on the flank seemed to notice me for the first time. Perhaps it was my formal garb, or maybe they had spies in the ceremony and noted my place of honor, but I had a Firebender rushing me, throwing fireballs my way. I ducked the first strikes and got to cover, which resulted in the table being set on fire. I scrambled into my pocket and found my sonic screwdriver. With my other hand I gripped a plate with some of Pema's excellent macaroons and pulled it away, committing a high crime against culinary taste by letting her cooking go to such waste. When the Firebender shifted to change his attack posture I threw the plate with all of my strength.  
  
I don't like to brag, but I _am_ a Time Lord. And I have exquisite aim to go with my strength. The plate slammed into the Firebender's throat right below the Adam's apple. Had I thrown higher it would have crushed that apple and could have killed him. Such force was unnecessary. I caused him to fall over, gasping for air. I grabbed another fallen plate, this one thankfully empty, and threw it to another would-be attacker. This one was a Waterbender, however, and was already expertly using water pulled from some of the cups. An ice shield formed that absorbed the plate and caused it to shatter. The ice melted back into water and gushed toward me. I couldn't get to cover quickly enough and some got around my ankles before they hardened to ice, binding my feet together and making me trip. I rolled and faced the attacking Waterbender, who gathered more water and formed icicles to point at my head.  
  
Flame consumed the icicles. Lord Zuko stepped between us and drew in a deep breath. Fire erupted from his mouth and singed the Red Lotus Waterbender before he could retreat. He stumbled back to get room but Zuko gave him no rest, firing a plume of flame from his outstretched hand that slammed into the Waterbender and sent him flying backward. "How are you?", he called back to me.  
  
"Fine, Lord Zuko, bright as rain," I answered. I already had my sonic pointing toward the ice around my ankles. A solid sonic burst cracked the ice and made it crumble. I pulled myself to my feet. Zuko had moved onward to join the fight. It was a spectacle, I can assure you. Fine and artistic movements of limbs, shifting of bodies, and the elements responding to those movements. If it weren't so deadly it'd be amazing.  
  
I scanned around and stumbled over toward one side of the room. Asami lay beside Pema. Pema was sitting up, holding her baby son Rohan, and looking down at Asami. She looked woozy and there was a bruise on her right temple. Blood trickled from her nose. I didn't need to scan to see she'd taken a hit. "Asami!", I shouted.  
  
She stirred. "What's..?"  
  
As she recovered I looked back at the battle. The attackers were fierce. Mako was favoring an arm but still fighting. Raiko's security men were down, the President being shielded instead by Jinora and Ikki acting in tandem. Jinora's young lad Kai was helping Bolin against their skilled opponents. Tonraq was shielding the wounded siblings of Tenzin and exchanging blows with an enemy Waterbender.  
  
I narrowed my eyes. The attack had certainly been by surprise. It had been ferocious, in fact. And the timing was good; the changing of shifts. But there was something about it. The attackers weren't going after targets, not with the zeal I'd expect for people throwing themselves into a desperate attack.  
  
Unless...  
  
"Asami, come with me, quickly!", I shouted urgently. I grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door and toward stairs leading across the island. In the distance the dormitories were pinpricks of light. And there was not a guard to be found.  
  
"But everyone's fighting back there, we can't abandon them!", Asami protested.  
  
"It's a diversion!", I replied. "They're luring all of the island security forces to _this_ point. The rest of the island will be uncovered!"  
  
"But why..." I couldn't see, but I imagined her eyes widening in horrified realization. " _Korra!_ "  
  
She started running briskly on her own energy. She kept up as we sprinted into the dorms. Confirmation of my theory came at the first White Lotus guard sprawled out. "But how did they sneak up... on the island?", Asami huffed. "Even with a change in the guard the approaches are still watched."  
  
"The answer is depressingly obvious," I replied. "Many of the guards here are White Lotus. The Red Lotus came from their organization, yes?"  
  
"Spies," Asami gasped.  
  
"Yes," I answered.  
  
Our pace quickened.  
  
  
  
  
We got to Korra's room. The wall was... gone. We both called out to Korra and entered it. The sound of a boat engine powering up came from outside, down where this side of the island met the water. A fairly-sized speedboat was linked to the island by a bridge of stone, clearly made by an Earthbender. It was dark and the light of the Republic City skyline was dim this far out. But I could just make out the figure of Korra, unconscious and slung over the shoulder of one of the Red Lotus men. They were almost to the boat.  
  
"We've got to stop them!" Asami jumped down into the rocks and I followed. The terrain was rough and difficult, but Asami had the grace of an acrobat and I had a Time Lord's dexterity and physical stamina. We closed the distance and were to the waterside before Korra's captor got her to the earth bridge. I held up the sonic screwdriver, cursed my laxity in not bringing my disruptor, and used a narrow beam sonic wave that made the man carrying Korra slump over. He cried out and faltered.  
  
The Red Lotus members turned as one to face us. Asami and I split up to avoid being taken out together and closed as quickly as we could. I kept the screwdriver up whenever I could, preventing any singular Red Lotus from getting Korra to the boat. Asami took the advantage of a rock outcropping to get in a long jump that got her in range first. She used a judo throw to toss one figure into a rock. A cry of pain filled the air. She twisted and leaned to one side, avoiding a Firebender's bolt of flame.  
  
I closed the distance at this time. Fury and worry broke through my compunctions on physical violence. My fist came up and I slugged the man trying to pick up Korra. He went flying into the water. My knuckles protested with agony. I ignored that, turning and standing over Korra's unconscious body. I raised the sonic and used the disruption to cause another Red Lotus member to fall over, crying out in agony from what the sonic was doing to his ear drums.  
  
I was already running the mental calculations in my mind. They had at least two benders, but the darkness was impacting their accuracy as much as it impacted ours. Mine, granted, not so much. Nevertheless, I expected they had more, and since I didn't know the least bit about chi blocking, and I knew Asami didn't either... well, we were at a disadvantage. Winning would mean buying _time_.  
  
So I turned to the speedboat and pointed the sonic screwdriver at it. The purple tip lit up and whirred. A small explosion of sparks erupted from the rear of the boat, joined by a low flame. I had wrecked the boat's motor and the flames threatened the entire boat. I could hear the sloshing of water and saw the silhouette of a man or even a woman standing in the boat due to the flames, moving their arms. Water seeped up over the engine and extinguished the flames.  
  
I turned and brought up the sonic to stun the Firebender trying to roast Asami. He stumbled as the sonics nearly burst his eardrums. Asami caught him with a punch to the gut and gave him a judo toss that sent him into the giant that had been carrying Korra. This brought her into contact with me. "We can't... hold them," she warned, panting.  
  
"Play for time," I wheezed in reply. "The others will realize it soon enough."  
  
So we stood back to back, using the darkness as our ally to nullify the enemy's bending. My senses were just refined enough to make out silhouettes in the dim light conditions. Asami felt my movements and joined them, allowing us to avoid flame and thrown rocks, and I made sure to put their Firebender down whenever he started to send flames our way. I wondered why the Earthbender in their group wasn't collapsing the bridge we were on. Presumably he was unconscious.  
  
There was increased frustration from their attacks, driven by the pain my sonic inflicted and the blows Asami delivered whenever they got close enough. We could stalemate them to the point their mission failed, and they knew that.  
  
And then Asami and I were thrown off our feet.  
  
The gust of wind took us by surprise. We went flying away from the boat and crashed toward the rocks, leaving Korra exposed. We both sat up, confused by what had happened. In the dim light, I could make out a figure reaching down and lifting her up. He was slim. But I couldn't make out his face.  
  
But I did recognize his voice.  
  
"Chodak," Dorje barked. "We've lost enough time and we'll need more to cross the bay."  
  
"You..." I lifted myself up. Asami was also stirring. I brought up the sonic to trigger a disruption into his head. Before I could another gust of air, more focused and concentrated, ripping my sonic from my hand. I could make out Dorje's arm movements and felt air whip around me. I cried out as the miniature funnel took me and Asami up and threw is again, this time against the rocks of the island's waterline. Water sloshed in my hair. Another figure, also in Air-colored robes, loomed over me, barely visible in the light. He brought his fist down as Asami began to stir. She let out the merest of cries and fell limp.  
  
I reached around desperately, trying to find something. A rock. Anything. But I couldn't manage it before his fist cracked against my jaw. I lost focus for the moment and stars dominated what vision I did have. I struggled to get up and another fist crashed into my face. He tried to punch me again, but this time my left arm interceded and caught his right arm, holding it up.  
  
His left side shifted and his left hand grabbed my throat and squeezed. I gasped for air and tried to get my right hand up, but he had shifted his elbow to pin my right bicep to the ground. I couldn't get the leverage. I struggled to breathe through Chodak's iron grip.  
  
There was a flash of light and I heard a familiar sound.  
  
Namely, the whine of a Federation phaser.  
  
The hand closed on my throat went limp. The euphoria of air flooding back into my lungs made me dizzy for a moment. It was long enough for my rescuer to come up. Lucsly extended an arm and I took it. He brought me up to a sitting position. "Lucsly," I said quietly.  
  
"I came when I heard the explosion near the dorms," he said. "I couldn't find a way down the rocks in this gloom, I had to go by tricorder. Where is the local security...?"  
  
"Diversion." I had already turned to face the Bay. The speedboat was becoming less and less visible. I cursed internally. I habitually reached for my TARDIS remote and remembered that the remote's control systems were another system I had yet to repair. I swore under my breath. "They've got Korra. They're going to kill her."  
  
Asami was starting to stir a little. Before I could help her a beam of light illuminated the side of the boat. A Republic City Police Department Zeppelin moved overhead. I smirked. We had them!  
  
....and then we didn't. One of the figures raised his or her arms. Geysers of mist - no, _steam_ \- erupted from the surface of the Bay. The boat disappeared under the cover of the roiling steam. The Zeppelin shifted. The captain was going to try and disperse the steam with his engines' downwash. It was clever.  
  
A bolt of flame erupted from within the steam. It nearly missed the craft. But other bolts came, quick and hard, and the captain had to start shifting his craft to avoid the fire that might have downed his vessel. All the while the steam built up, thicker and thicker, obscuring more of Yue Bay.  
  
I hoped, nevertheless. I scanned the skies for more of the craft. For any help at all. But the other zeppelin approaching was coming to the other side of the island, toward the diversion attack. And with the steam-produced mist covering the bay and the dark conditions...  
  
They had done it. The Red Lotus had won.  
  
They had again kidnapped Korra, this time right from her bed.  
  
And I had not been able to stop them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our narrator joins with Team Avatar in a race to rescue Korra from the Red Lotus.

Every face in the room was sickened when Lucsly and I returned to Korra's room, Asami trailing behind. We climbed back in and faced the others. "It was all a diversion," Mako said with disgust.  
  
"Yes," I panted. I took in another breath, feeling my body begin to recover from the speed at which we had gotten back to the side of the building over the rock formations. Lucsly reached behind me to pull up Asami. "Dorje was leading the Red Lotus."  
  
"What?!" The cry of surprise was from Tenzin.  
  
"That Air Acolyte fellow you assigned to him, Chodak, is down by the water," I continued. "Lucsly stunned him."  
  
"I've got my people scouring the island," Lin said. "And we have several missing White Lotus."  
  
"Infiltrators," I suggested. "This attack was launched at the guard shift change and evaded the island's coast watchers."  
  
"Where is Phuntsok?", Tenzin demanded, looking to one of the Acolytes. "Find him immediately!"  
  
"So what are we going to do now?", Bolin asked. "They're probably going to do the metal thing on her again! And Korra's legs don't work, she won't be able to fight back even if she goes all glowy-eyes again!"  
  
"Their waterbenders put up enough steam to cover the northern shore of the Bay." Lin shook her head. "Our people can't make out where they came to shore, or where they might have gone."  
  
I turned and looked back out at the city. The mists called up by the Waterbenders were still visible even from this angle. Frustration and anger filled me, followed by horror at the consequences. Even with their measures, the Red Lotus had to know they couldn't hide forever. They would act swiftly. Odds were that they already had measures in place. Korra was unlikely to survive the next few hours, much less the evening.  
  
"There's got to be some way to find her!", Tonraq insisted. Desperate fury filled his voice. This was his nightmare being repeated.  
  
"They have an entire warehouse district to hide in on that side of the city." Lin's voice was hard and furious. "There's..."  
  
I blocked out the rest of her explanation on the extremely hard logistics of finding Korra in that region. I fought my emotions down and tried my own thoughts. The TARDIS' damage limited my options. But perhaps there was...  
  
My eyes settled on the table by Korra's bed. The pressure on my chest began to subside at what I found there.  
  
Or rather, what I didn't see.  
  
"Has anyone taken the beacon?", I asked loudly, interrupting Tonraq and Lin. "Anyone?!"  
  
Everyone stared blankly. I pointed to the empty table. "The item Korra kept there. Where is it? Did anyone have it removed?"  
  
"No one would have," Tenzin said.  
  
"Thank you," I whispered, thinking of my friend. A tear came to my eye. None of the Red Lotus would have had reason to take the device. Nobody else would have. It had to have been Korra.  
  
Korra had taken the temporal beacon with her.  
  
Which meant I had a chance now.  
  
"She's got the beacon!", I shouted. "Everyone to the TARDIS, now!"  
  
I didn't give them time to react. I took off running. The pain in my left side only drove me faster. I did lament that my repairs hadn't restored the remote yet. But I spent most of the time praying I was right. That it hadn't been some random Air Acolyte carrying off the beacon. That Korra had actually brought it with her.  
  
I found the TARDIS in the courtyard I'd left her. I threw the door open and raced to the controls. The others rushed in behind me. Mako, Bolin, Asami, Tenzin and Jinora, the Beifongs, and Tonraq all. "You can find her?" There was desperate hope in Tonraq's voice.  
  
"If she has the beacon, yes!" I fired up the communications and scanners systems. I locked onto the temporal beacon I'd given Korra.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?!"  
  
The voice prompted everyone to turn. I looked up briefly while working. Phuntsok was being brought up, flanked by sour-faced Republic City metalbenders and White Lotus guards. "Armed men, here, accosting me?! Do you know no limits, Tenzin?!"  
  
"I've had enough of this!", Tenzin shouted. "It was bad enough that you and Dorje have refused to budge, but now you might cost Korra her life!"  
  
"What are you talking about?!," Phuntsok demanded. "Where is Dorje?! What have you done with..."  
  
"Dorje is aiding the Red Lotus," I announced, finishing my own work at the controls. "He prevented us from rescuing Korra from the attackers." I turned my head and glared at the elderly man. "The question on my mind, sir, is if you are in collusion with him."  
  
"That's... that's not possible," Phuntsok sputtered. "Dorje is a fine Air Nomad, he is educated and proper and committed..."  
  
Something clicked in my head. "He was with the White Lotus, wasn't he?"  
  
Phuntsok went quiet.  
  
"That would explain his connection easily," I continued. "He was White Lotus in your original time and disagreed with their current policies. Somehow one of the Red Lotus, maybe even Zaheer himself, made contact with Dorje and converted him. It wouldn't have been hard. You two have made it clear you despise everything the modern world is about."  
  
"You are slandering a good..."  
  
" _They're trying to destroy the Avatar!_ ," I screamed, getting that in before Tenzin or another could speak. "And Dorje is part of it, Phuntsok! You can go with us and see for yourself, if that pleases you, because at the first sign of treachery I'm dropping you into a black hole!"  
  
Phuntsok went silent. He nodded quietly.  
  
"Good. Now that we have that settled... everyone get ready." I reached for the TARDIS controls and breathed. "We're coming for you, Korra."  
  
  
  
  
I admit I would have preferred bringing more firepower. Everyone was already a little worn down from the attack, some of us more than others. Even I was. If I had been able to, there were friends of mine I could call in to help, and the amount of power I could bring to bear on the Red Lotus would have been terrifying. I needn't have even taken them all. I could imagine the scene easily enough; a shock-and-awe first strike by way of a thunderous cry of " _ **FORZARE!**_!" as the opening to Mayhem à la Dresden, providing more than sufficient cover for Molly Carpenter to get Korra out under her impressive veil.  
  
But the TARDIS' damage made moving sixth-dimensionally risky. Oh, I could manage it, but I couldn't guarantee we'd arrive back here at the right time. And if we did it at the wrong time, well, no need to dwell on _that_ depressing outcome.  
  
The TARDIS arrived stealthily. During my time as the Time Lord Triumphant I had been given cause to ensure the working of a full stealth mode. Complete invisibility and the engine silenced, all of that. It would come in handy.  
  
I retrieved my sonic disruptor as I moved toward the door. Tonraq, Asami, and Mako were on my flanks, and the others further back. Lucsly moved up to the second rank. I gave him a curious look and he returned it with nonchalance. Undoubtedly he would justify this as "undoing the damage already done". If it made him happier, i didn't care much, I admit.  
  
I opened the TARDIS door. According to the sensors we were in the underground, a former Equalist facility that the Red Lotus had taken over following the Equalists' defeat. A warehouse leased by a Red Lotus supporter was above us; we were not even a kilometer from the waterfront. The boat was probably still there, if it hadn't been sunk to hide it. More Red Lotus guards were assembled at places. Some carried swords in their belts. Some were obvious benders.  
  
Three men stood in the middle of the room. One was a younger man, maybe in his early forties at most, who was moving his hands over a bowl held by an elderly man with a blade in his belt. Dorje stood amongst them. His face was stern. "I regret this course of action," he said gravely. "But this world has become hopelessly corrupted by the legacy of Sozin. Even you and your line have fallen to it. The world must be rebuilt into a proper harmony with or without the Avatar. The Red Lotus will be my instrument in this mission."  
  
There was no direct answer. I was already moving my eyes over to see where Korra was. She was in her bed clothes, a sleeveless top and blue long pants, her hair undone and in wavy locks down to her back. Metal chains held her arms and legs spread-eagled tightly, restraining her movement so she could not bend elements. Her face was twisted in a pained grimace... which was not surprising. She couldn't use her legs. She couldn't _stand_. All of her weight was pulling her arms against the shackles and chains holding them up. Even as strong as she was, I knew it would be terribly painful.  
  
The younger man with Dorje brought his hands up. Silver liquid levitated in mid-air. More mercury. He began moving it toward Korra, who watched with wide and terrified eyes. Tears were running down her face. She must have imagined that it was all happening again, that she was in a living nightmare. For the first time since I'd ever known her, Korra whimpered.  
  
She had already suffered so much... and now the Red Lotus was adding yet more to that. All Korra wanted to do was to be a good Avatar for her world, to help people and heal them... and they were going to murder her for what she was.  
  
And that made me angry.  
  
It made me _furious_.  
  
I am not unfamiliar with fury. Various things I'd seen had provoked my anger before. When the Borg took Jan and Cami, I had been furious with them, and Katherine's death had filled me with cold rage that numbed my hearts to unfeeling lumps. Queen Mab herself, the Queen of the Winter Fae, had found my cold-blooded wrath to be worthy of comment.  
  
But this was not the same. This time, instead of my hearts freezing into numb cold, they blazed. Fiery rage filled me from head to toe. All of my guilt at failing to aid her earlier, every iota of shame I felt at having abandoned my responsibilities, fueled the anger and stoked it to greater heights.  
  
I stepped out of the TARDIS with the sonic disruptor up. " _ **LET HER GO!**_ ," I howled in rage, even as my hand grasped the disruptor harder and triggered it.  
  
The resulting wave of energy was restrained only to keep it from hitting Korra. The mercury flying toward her was blown to the far wall, where it splattered. Dorje and his compatriots were tossed to the ground before they could react.  
  
The other Red Lotus moved to face me, just as the people behind me jumped out and attacked. Lin's metal strips lashed out and wrapped around the torso of one Lotus, throwing him into a woman who was about to Firebend. Mako and Bolin threw fire and earth at a pair of Earthbenders who jumped for cover. Suyin's arms moved and chunks of metal from the support frame of the building tore off of their surfaces. They slammed into the enemy Metalbender and held his arms down before he could get up. Lucsly took cover at the TARDIS door, firing off phaser blasts into the general melee whenever he got a clear shot.  
  
Dorje got to his feet and waved his arm at me. A gust of air straight from a hurricane slammed into me and knocked me over. "It would have been easier if you had not come, Doctor," Dorje said. "You have given our people hope for the future. I do not wish harm on you."  
  
"Dorje?!" Phuntsok emerged beside me. "What are you doing?!"  
  
"Phuntsok." Dorje shook his head. "I am sorry, friend. But this is necessary."  
  
"This is not our way!", Phuntsok shouted. "Violence has never been our way."  
  
"Yes. And what did that get us? It won us death, at the hands of Sozin," Dorje replied, his voice rising in volume. "And it is Sozin's legacy that rules this world. His precious machines, which sap the spirits and will of our people! Everyone and everything has been corrupted by this! You've said so yourself, Phuntsok. This world needs to be cleansed of Sozin's poison and brought back to proper harm..."  
  
His eyes moved over as the whirring reached his ears. I glanced over as well, recognizing the sound of my sonic screwdriver. Asami held it against the shackle holding Korra's right wrist. Miniature magnetic fields shifted the latch inside the shackle and clicked it open. Korra fell limply to one side, all of her weight now on the left arm.  
  
Dorje gathered his arms to throw a blast of air at Asami. Phuntsok, despite his age, was agile enough to intercept it. Tenzin and Jinora took up positions around him as well. "Give it up, Dorje," Tenzin said. "You can't fight us all."  
  
Dorje shook his head. "I don't want to fight you at all. But you leave me no choice." He began whirling his arms about. Gusts of air lashed out at Phuntsok first. The old man began to disperse them. But he couldn't. The second blasted through his own gathering air and sent him flying backward. Dorje turned in time to deflect an air burst from Tenzin and sent a strong gust at his feet. Tenzin dodged with a spinning jump. Dorje's arm moved and dispelled a jab of air from Jinora.  
  
With the Airbenders fighting I turned to face the battle. The Red Lotus were not numerous. They had lost people in the attack, after all, and in these spaces the Benders we had brought were stalemating them long enough for Lucsly to pick them off, one by one. But their numbers could be even larger outside. I ran toward the door. My left side exploded in pain, protesting the continued exercise in its wounded condition. The pain grew worse when I had to duck under a thrown chunk of stone from Bolin and a riposte from the Earthbender he was facing. This made me pick up such speed that I couldn't stop in time when I got to my destination.  
  
I slammed into the door at my full speed. This knocked the air from my lungs and made me take a moment to recover. I heard shouts and looked down the corridor to see more Red Lotus agents running towards me, swords coming out. I promptly slammed the sliding door shut. With Asami holding my sonic screwdriver I had to use the sonic disruptor. It wasn't built for the subtle control needed to seal a mechanical lock like this. I ended up having to smash the lock physically into place, making it unable to be opened. At least, not by anyone who didn't have some metalbending.  
  
Asami had Korra at this point and was bringing her toward the TARDIS. Red Lotus fighters noticed this and broke off from fighting Tonraq and Suyin. Asami had to pull Korra down to the floor to avoid plumes of flame and thrown metal. The Firebender turned and delivered a burst of fire at Tonraq that was strong enough that it went through his hastily thrown water shield and slammed into his chest. He flew backward. I came up to take his place and fired off a Setting 21 burst, causing the Firebender to collapse.  
  
At that moment, Tenzin went flying past us. I went up to him and saw his eyes focus slowly, a strong bruise on his head from where he had slammed it against the wall. The sonic disruptor's scanning was enough to tell me he was concussed and out of the fight.  
  
My eyes widened as I turned back to Dorje. That old Airbender had taken out _Tenzin_? From what I'd been told, the entirety of Zaheer's group had been necessary to bring down Tenzin. But Dorje had. He was impossibly skilled, it seemed. I had thought all of the people we rescued from the Temples were not of such power, being primarily caretakers. But his status as ex-White Lotus clearly meant more than just group affiliation.  
  
Indeed, as I witnessed his movements, he made me think of Zuko or Mako more than any other Airbender. He was bending the air but his offensive power was that of a Firebender, with swift and fluid offensive strikes. It stood to reason that old Iroh had not been the only White Lotus member to consider blending Bending styles.  
  
He twisted back to Asami and Korra, who were less than ten meters from the TARDIS. Jinora was maneuvering to aid them, throwing a gust of air to knock Dorje off balance. The old Airbender spun with the blow, dissipating its power against him, and let out a strong gust of air from his hands that blew Asami and Korra away from the door and to the ground. Dorje turned and forced Jinora back with a powerful wind gust generated by a flow of his arms. She was dispelling it, but the moment gave him the chance to turn and send a wind blast into the TARDIS. Lucsly flew back into it, his phaser flying from his hand.  
  
He might have taken another hit, but Jinora caught Dojre with a gust of air that broke up his own. She swung her arms and hit him with enough air to throw Dojre to his side. He barely regained his footing in time to twist about in mid-air and counter-attack. It was a strong and powerful wall of air that slammed into Jinora, but she held her ground, bending a valley around it.  
  
The same gust sent me flying. I fell back and struck Suyin, knocking us both over. The Earthbender she had been dueling brought his arms up and tore out chunks from the floor to throw at us. I caught the chunks with my disruptor's shield. Suyin worked offense to my defense, bending a strand of metal on the ground to slam into the Earthbender and knock him over. "Thank you," she said, getting up and going on the attack.  
  
I had nodded at her and turned to Korra and Asami. I got to them and accepted my sonic from Asami. Korra looked at me with weak eyes. A smile broke her features. "You came."  
  
"Well, of course," I answered. "A promise is a promise." I pointed to a small bulge along her right hip, at the hem of her pants. Korra weakly reached for it and revealed the temporal beacon. "Thank you for having faith in me."  
  
She smiled gently at that and closed her eyes, as if to go to sleep.  
  
I heard a cry and looked back to see Jinora hit the wall. She bounced off of it and barely got her arms up in time to bend a defense from the powerful bursts of air coming from Dorje's arms. Given he had knocked old Phuntsok out of the fight and then her father, the world's most experienced Airbending Master, Jinora holding her own was in of itself a testament to her prowess, and to why she deserved the arrow tattoos that showed on her arms and head.  
  
But still, she needed help. And I jumped to provide it. I fired up setting 21 and made Dorje cry out in pain.  
  
A lesser man might have succumbed to the sonic messing up his brain. Dorje focused and blocked out the pain. He sent one final strike at Jinora, an in-direct blow that got around her defenses and sent her flying to the side. Freed for the moment, Dorje turned to me. He sent another powerful wind gust at me that I caught with my defensive shield setting and which, coincidentally, forced me to stop screwing up his brain. "You're rather skilled, sir," I said. "You should have been a Master."  
  
"I chose not to be," he answered. "My loyalty was to the White Lotus, not to the leading monks."  
  
I dropped all politeness at that point. "You tried to kill my friend," I said to him, my voice hard and growling. "That is not a safe place to stand!"  
  
"It is for the good of the world," Dorje answered. "My sacrifice today will ensure it."  
  
His sacrifice? The choice of words worried me. He smiled at me and nodded. "Comprehension dawns, Time Lord." The smile fell. "I regret you came. I would have preferred you not die with the rest of us."  
  
And then, without warning, he generated a massive gust of air. It was not aimed at any of us, though.  
  
It was aimed at a series of wheels on the ceiling. They turned at the power of his wind.  
  
Thick gray smoke began to circulated from the ventilation shafts. I scanned the smoke with my sonic. "Poison gas," I said. It had low concentrations, but we had maybe three minutes of safe exposure to it before the toxins would become lethal, and it would be debilitating in a minute or so.  
  
"Yes." Dorje whirled about and took up a position at the TARDIS door. He rippled his arms around him, facing down Jinora and, now, Suyin as well. He deflected strikes from them without opening the way for us to escape and started drawing in breath. With a wave of his arm he caught Lucsly as he stirred and threw the DTI agent outside of the TARDIS. A funnel formed around him, drawing air in.  
  
Which meant it drew in the poison gas as well.  
  
"The Avatar may pass on instead of being removed," he said as the smoke settled upon us, just beyond him. "But the Red Lotus will find the next one first and we will secure a better future."  
  
I went to reply and couldn't. I began to cough as the gas settled over us, sucked in by Dorje's airbending. A cacophony of coughs came from all around us. I held my breath and advanced on Dorje; my Time Lord physiology gave me some robustness the others did not enjoy. He saw me coming and threw an air disc at me that I dispersed on my sonic disruptor's field. I wanted to scream at him but didn't dare risk it. I needed all of my remaining air for exertion.  
  
And for thinking. Because fighting an Airbender was not something I could do easily.  
  
Outthinking one, on the other hand...  
  
I didn't let myself smirk as I continued to approach. He got clever. He tried to bend air around me, and every time I maneuvered to absorb it with the disruptor. "You are quick," he conceded.  
  
"Yes." My eyes bored into him. "This is your answer. Mayhem and slaughter?"  
  
"I dislike it," he said. "I am not Zaheer. He was going too far."  
  
"Oh, he was?", I asked pointedly. "It seems you're following right along."  
  
"I am not," Dorje protested. "I refused to aid him when he asked."  
  
"You met him in the Spirit World, I take it?" I absorbed another air gust. Dorje couldn't afford to move much air, not without taking a big lungful of poison too. And he needed to be the last man standing. "What changed your mind?"  
  
"The corruption of this world. The brutality at Ba Sing Se when the Queen died. The destruction of the Northern Air Temple." Dorje fixed his gray eyes on me. "Sozin poisoned this world. It must be removed."  
  
"Ah. And you're going to make the world a better place, are you? Make everything better?" I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice. I remembered talking like that myself once.  
  
"Yes, Doctor."  
  
"Interesting." I kept my face hard. "Murder and killing to build a better world. I remember that. Oh yes..." I smiled coldly. "That was the justification Fire Lord Sozin used as well."  
  
Those words hit Dorje and cut him. Deeply. His calm exterior melted and he became visibly angry. "You. Compare me. To **_HIM?!_** "  
  
"I do," I rasped.  
  
This time there was no stopping Dorje's airbending. His arms whipped around like lightning and the air around me constricted like a boa, trapping my arms to my torso. I was forced to my knees. Poison gas mixed with the air entering my lungs.  
  
"I was only going to use this if forced!", Dorje shouted. "And you have brought me to this, Doctor!" His arms kept whipping around. Air gathered around my head. I could feel the air currents against the longest strands of my hair.  
  
My torso burned with pain as the air was pulled from my lungs. I gasped and inhaled in vain. I was locked into place, suffocating on vacuum as if I were in space. It was excruciating in its agony. Tears rolled down Dorje's cheek as he performed the maneuver. Undoubtedly taught by Zaheer.  
  
I couldn't smile. But I wanted to.  
  
I had won.  
  
The poison gas suddenly blew upward and outward, drawn up by currents of rapid air. Dorje looked on in shock at what was happening. "No!", he shouted.  
  
  
  
Jinora looked pale and sick. But there was determination knitted across her face as she twisted her arms above her head, over and over. The Air in the chamber answered her movements and moved upward, pulling the poison gas above our heads.  
  
I was still being suffocated at that moment, admittedly. My vision was becoming dark and my Time Lord body called out for oxygen. Even Time Lords can be suffocated, after all.  
  
I was released when a big chunk of stone from the floor slammed into Dorje's chest. He fell backward in a daze. I sucked in air greedily and fell to all fours. My head turned and I smiled.  
  
Korra was sitting up with the support of Asami. There was a determined look on her face. With her arms she made bending motions. Metal shrieked from nearby and iron plates came ripping off of the support columns. They twisted into rods and found their new place, wrapping around Dorje's limbs. One caught his right arm, closed around the wrist, and moved in midair to twist the wrist to slam into the left wrist and another waiting bit of metal, which was clamped together with the other. A similar restraint bound his ankles. Dojre cried out in frustration as he toppled, helpless.  
  
Korra looked at me. Her eyes... sparkled, for the first time since I'd come back. A weak smile came to her face. And she promptly slumped against Asami, falling into unconsciousness.  
  
Across the room our allies and friends started to get up again, as did the Red Lotus. Both sides were unlikely to be able to fight well, but it was still undecided.  
  
Lucsly changed that.  
  
He reached into his boot and pulled out a small pocket phaser. A type 1, that is. The little weapon could be hidden within one's hand easily and no one could see where it was pointed until the amber light lashed out. He coughed and faltered a little. But he didn't let it up. One after another the recovering Red Lotus took phaser beams to the chest.  
  
"We... can't leave... them..." Lin had to talk between harsh coughs. She used the metalbending cables she had to grab fallen Red Lotus and pull them along. The others recovered enough to start grabbing them. Asami brought Korra up and stumbled along toward the TARDIS. I went to join them.  
  
All the while Jinora kept going. But she was weakening. She had already fought Dorje to a standstill. Now she was forced to expend immense effort creating the air flow that kept the poison gas from harming us. The sheer scope of her accomplishment was awe-inspiring.  
  
We had gotten everyone inside the TARDIS when Jinora looked at us and smiled sadly. She gave up, weakened to the point of complete exhaustion, and collapsed to the floor from that exhaustion.  
  
The poison gas settled down over the room again. The TARDIS' environmental field would keep it out, thankfully. But Jinora was now out in it again, breathing in a little more death every moment. And soon enough she would be too far gone.  
  
Before I could react, Lucsly's tricorder was out and he was plunging into the gray smoke.  
  
"Where's Jinora?", Asami asked, turning away from where she had settled Korra on the upper floor.  
  
"Out there," I answered. "Lucsly's going to get her."  
  
"We've got to help," Asami insisted.  
  
"Stay at the door," I said before going to my controls. I put commands into the TARDIS environmental system and started expanding its environmental field, using the pressure of it to clear the gas away from the entrance. More and more of the air became clear, letting us see.  
  
Lucsly emerged from the gray smoke in faltering steps, Jinora in his arms. He let out a gasp and collapsed just in front of the TARDIS.  
  
I rushed to their side with Lin and a barely recovered Phuntsok beside me. The elder Air Nomad looked down at Jinora with shame-filled eyes. Despite his own injuries, he hefted the young girl into his arms and, clearly straining, carried her inside. Lin and I balanced Lucsly between us and brought him in behind Phuntsok. "Give them plenty of air!", I barked to the others. "They took more than we did!" The others parted for me to get to the TARDIS medical packets, where Lin assumed control over Lucsly so I could open the box. I pulled out hyposprays and tossed them to Asami. "Here. Two doses for Lucsly and Jinora. One for everyone else."  
  
"I'm on it," Asami said. Her voice was strained but not weak.  
  
I pulled out the medigel pack next and handed it to Lin. "For Tenzin. That's a nasty concussion, I want to make sure there's no brain damage."  
  
Alas, Lin didn't accept my clear lob pass line. There's just no helping some people. Karrin Murphy would never have resisted the same regarding Harry.  
  
With that done, I let out a ragged breath and took the TARDIS controls, setting them for Air Temple Island. A content look crossed my face.  
  
We'd done it. Korra was safe.  
  
I hadn't failed my friend again.  
  
And, despite the pain in my chest and the sick feeling in my body from the poison I'd inhaled and, oh, the agony in my left hip from my injury there being aggravated by all of the strenuous activity... I let out a laugh of joy.  
  
I hadn't laughed like that in a while.  
  
It felt... _good_.  
  
  
  
  
The cleanup on Air Temple Island was going to take days. It took a few for the others to recover from the poison in their system, requiring a lot of work to be done from the sickbed.  
  
Thanks to my Time Lord physiology, I was able to avoid being stuck in bed and focused myself to further repairs on the TARDIS so that I could take Lucsly home.  
  
I visited the ward on the morning of the third day to find the last two patients there. Lucsly was awake and nibbling on the breakfast meal provided. Jinora remained asleep. Phuntsok sat beside her in thought. "Considering things?", I asked him quietly.  
  
"My arrogance," the old man answered. "I have allowed my longing for the past to ensnare my spirit. It has led me to error."  
  
"There is a saying in another culture I know. 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.'" I pulled up a chair. "I've succumbed to arrogance before. I can't judge you harshly."  
  
"I would never have imagined Dorje to fall so far." Phuntsok's voice sounded weak.  
  
"He made his choices. And you still have your own."  
  
"Yes." Phuntsok looked back to Jinora. She had regained some of the color to her face. But with her exertion and the near-fatal dose of poison from the gas, she was still too weak to do much but sleep and let her body recover. "I have informed Tenzin that I am removing my objection to Jinora becoming a Master. I desire to have her come and teach the children at the Eastern Temple when she is recovered."  
  
"I'm sure she'll do so." Satisfied, I stood up to walk over to Lucsly.  
  
"Doctor."  
  
I almost didn't turn. I didn't want that name anymore. But I knew it was directed at me and so I did. "I told you that wasn't my name," I said.  
  
"Your spirit is troubled by your mistakes. I understand it has led you to rejecting that name." Phuntsok shook his head. "But it is a worthy name. Please, reconsider it."  
  
"I can't," I replied. I didn't look at his reaction before turning away. I walked up to Lucsly, who was finishing his last bite. "Recovering well."  
  
He nodded.  
  
"I was surprised you got involved," I said to him.  
  
"You had already altered this timeline," he answered. "Helping to right it sounded like the right thing to do."  
  
"Was that all?", I asked. "It wasn't about a young woman who was going to be killed in a terrible way?"  
  
Lucsly looked at me intently for a moment. "I suppose it was that, too," he finally admitted. "I'm not changing what I believe in. And I know it's not going to change you either. You're always going to interfere in timelines and I'll always oppose you."  
  
"Perhaps. Feeling up for a TARDIS trip?" I looked to him. "She's fixed enough that I can risk a transit to get you home."  
  
"Yeah," he said, swinging his legs out from the bed. He looked a little wobbly but didn't fall over. He followed me out of the room. We remained quiet for the walk back to the TARDIS. It was only when we were inside and alone that he asked, "Why did you ask President Bacco to keep us on with DTI?"  
  
I flipped a small switch on the controls and didn't look back. "I thought it proper."  
  
"You could have gutted DTI," he continued. "Our replacements would have been terrified of the President coming down on them."  
  
"Yes. And that's not a good thing." I looked back at him. "I could tell you more, Lucsly, but that would mean telling you the future. And I will not risk everything for that. Suffice to say that DTI, specifically _you_ and your DTI, have an important role to play in the coming decades. And that includes keeping you with a relatively low profile. The committed time agent who was known for hunting me is the only thing I want history to know you as, if it remembers you at all."  
  
I couldn't tell him why. I couldn't say that he was due to become the creator of the temporal defense grid in the 25th Century, the devices that would limit the terrible scope of the Temporal Cold War and ultimately ensure it's end before it devastated space-time.  
  
Lucsly looked at me. He seemed, well, unbelieving. "You're serious," he finally said.  
  
"Quite," I answered.  
  
Lucsly seemed to think about that. "And this has to do with my future?"  
  
"Yes." I smirked at him. "Whether you believe it or not, Lucsly, I'm not the ogre you thought I was. Well..." I sighed. "...not anymore."  
  
"The first time I met you..."  
  
"....was the lowest time in my life," I finished for him. "I was full of grief and rage from the death of my Companion Katherine." I eyed Katherine's amethyst necklace and felt a pang of hurt. I forced it away. "It skewed my vision. I had to be jolted back to reasonable thinking."  
  
"Or at least reasonable by your standards."  
  
"Yes." I finished inputting the coordinates and looked at him. "We'll never be full allies or friends, Lucsly. I know that. But we can respect each other as rivals, at least. And understand that we are looking out for what's best for the timeline as a whole."  
  
He seemed to think on that. Eventually he looked away, not giving me an answer. But it was the best I could get.  
  
There was nothing more to say. I took him home.  
  
  
  
When I returned to Korra's new bedroom, I pushed along a wheeled cart with a few medical devices on it. Tonraq looked up, his wife Senna at his side. I had never met Korra's mother before - not counting seeing her at Jinora's ceremony where I was fairly withdrawn - and I accepted her hand. It turned into a tight hug of wordless gratitude that I accepted. "Chief Tonraq, you're looking better."  
  
"So are you." He accepted my hand and looked to what I wheeled in. "What is that?"  
  
"Something I brought for Korra." I looked to her. She seemed a little brighter today. But I knew she wasn't healed. Fresh trauma had been added to what she already carried and I feared for her spirit. "The method of removing the leftover metal is intensely traumatic to Korra's tissues. Every time it's done, we damage her body on the inside. So we need a new method."  
  
"Korra!"  
  
Tenzin's kids rushed in, pulling along an awake, weak-looking Jinora in what looked like a wheelchair configured with glider wings, being pushed along by Ikki. Jinora was favoring one leg; clearly the method of driving left _much_ to be desired. "Jinora's awake and wanted to see you!", Ikki announced. "Did you see what she did? Because she says she pulled away all the icky gas and I think she couldn't..."  
  
"She did," Korra said, laughing lightly. "She was amazing."  
  
"Hey, what's that thing?", Meelo demanded, looking at the largest device on the cart. "Why does it have so many lights?"  
  
In his excitement Meelo generated a small rush of air that wobbled the cart. I grabbed it and stabilized it. "These are very sophisticated pieces of medical equipment Meelo, and I should thank you not to break anything."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Okay. First things first." I held out the sonic and triggered a secondary device. It opened a line to the TARDIS... which in turn opened up the communications system and connected to a temporal beacon transmitter I'd left back at Starfleet Medical in a certain database.  
  
The air beside me shimmered. The EMH from _Voyager_ came into view. He blinked and looked around. "Where am I?"  
  
"This is the case I told you about," I said to him. "Severe mercury poisoning."  
  
"Oh. I see." The EMH picked up a medical tricorder from the cart. "Well, let's get to work. Young lady, please list all of your current symptoms."  
  
Korra looked at him blankly. "Uh... is he a spirit or something?"  
  
"I am a photonic life form," the EMH answered with some slight irritability. "Currently I am being transmitted across... I don't know what to this location by means of advanced technology I'm not familiar with. And you, young lady, seem to have had someone kill you with mercury, yet you are alive."  
  
"Her Avatar Spirit gave her some resilience until the majority of the metal was removed," I explained.  
  
"Avatar Spirit." The EMH gave me a skeptical look. "Right. Okay, she's alive... however. But she's not going to recover until the rest of that mercury is taken out. It looks to me like you somehow vacuumed it out of her body. Who's bright idea was that?"  
  
"She was dying, it had to be removed," Tonraq pointed out.  
  
"Yes, but the way it was inflicted severe damage to her body's tissues," the EMH protested. "And..."  
  
I cleared my throat. "Doctor... shall we get to removing the mercury and determining the treatment?"  
  
"Well, yes, of course."  
  
Korra fixed a look at him. "You're... not very nice, Doctor...?"  
  
"Doctor. That's it. That's all I'm called. The Doctor."  
  
Korra blinked. "But..." She pointed to me. "He's..."  
  
"...he's an egomaniacal superbeing with a time machine who thinks saving a world somewhere makes him the equal to a being carrying the collected experience of thousands of medical doctors," the EMH finished.  
  
I stifled a chuckle.  
  
"You're weird," Ikki said to him.  
  
"My, aren't you precocious," he sighed. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a patient to treat. Two, by the looks of things." He looked at Jinora in her chair. "And we will start by getting a patient history..."  
  
I remained present as the EMH tended to Korra. An injection of binding chemicals and the use of the medical transporter cleared the remaining mercury from Korra's body without a bit of pain. He focused on her injuries next, healing the scrapes and cuts she had received in the kidnapping.  
  
"You're going to need physical therapy," he said to her. "For several months, at least. I would recommend a walking exoskeleton frame to allow you to walk. It will keep your muscles from atrophying from lack of use and keep blood clots from forming. Among other benefits." The EMH gave her a close look, especially her baggy eyes. "I would also recommend therapy with a professionial psychiatrist."  
  
"What's that?", Korra asked.  
  
The EMH stared at her for a moment. "I apologize, I forgot where I was for the moment." He double-checked a reading. "You need psychological therapy. Your mind has been traumatized."  
  
"He means you need someone to talk to," I explained. "Someone who can help you deal with your fears and nightmares."  
  
"That is a terrible understatement," the EMH protested. "She needs a _trained_ therapist."  
  
"She'll get all the support she needs," Tonraq said.  
  
"That's..." The EMH drew in a sigh. "...well, I suppose that's the best you can do. Be patient. Post-traumatic stress disorder can linger for decades depending upon the scope and intensity of the event. Anxiety attacks and traumatic flashbacks are expected."  
  
"I'll make sure she's cared for," I said. "In the way you speak of."  
  
"Of course. Because being an _honorary_ doctor in quantum physics is the same as psychiatry." The EMH held up a hand to forestall protest. "Anyway, my next patient..." He eyed the tricorder as he scanned Jinora. "...who apparently has been exposed to a diluted cyanide compound. Seriously, what is _wrong_ with this world and why are children getting exposed to toxic substances like this?!"  
  
I settled my face into my palm and said nothing as he treated Jinora. When he had satisfied himself that Jinora was already recovering well and that the medications he'd injected her with would see her to the end, he looked to me. "There. Patients tended. Unless you have another child who has fallen into acid, maybe?"  
  
"None, Doctor," I said. "Thank you for your assistance, I will manage the follow-ups." I brought up the sonic and used it to turn the connection off. The EMH disappeared.  
  
There was silence for a moment. "Can you bring him back?!", Ikki cried. "Because I think it's really neat how he just appears like that and he's so gruff and _his head is so shiny!_ "  
  
"Yeah! He's bald like me!", Meelo contributed.  
  
"Are you sure he's a healer?", Senna asked with a worried voice. "He seemed unpleasant."  
  
"Oh, he's just cantankerous," I remarked. "It's part of his charm."  
  
  
  
  
A few hours later I was sitting alone in the TARDIS when the door knocked. I snapped my fingers to open it. Korra rolled her wheelchair in. I raised my eyebrows. "Already getting some strength back?"  
  
"Some." She settled her hands on her lap. "You don't want to be called the Doctor anymore, right?"  
  
I nodded.  
  
"I see." Her eyes focused on me. She looked tired, but that was to be expected. "I have to call you something, though."  
  
"Friend will work. Or any assorted pronoun." I smirked. "Karrin Murphy started calling me Matchstick, if you want to go with that."  
  
A smile curled on her lips. "I'll call you friend for now. Until I think of something better." She lowered her eyes. "I tried to sleep. But I had another nightmare and it woke me up. It's always the same. And it makes me feel like my world doesn't need me anymore."  
  
I looked directly at her but let her continue.  
  
"I've known my whole life that I'm the Avatar. It's what I am. It's who I am." Korra looked at me with clear frustration. "But what if they're all right? What if the world has changed so much it doesn't need me anymore?"  
  
"They're wrong," I said. "The world always needs its Avatar. The Avatar is there to restore balance to the world. To protect those who cannot save themselves and to throw down the powers that would ruin the world for whatever reasons they have." I stood up and went over to her, kneeling beside her so I could put my hands on her bare shoulders. "Your world needs you, Avatar Korra. Don't ever think otherwise."  
  
She stayed silent for several moments and looked away briefly. I sighed. This.. was not a wound that would heal quickly.  
  
When she spoke again, it was in a soft voice. "If my world needs the Avatar...", she said, "...then _every_ world needs the Doctor."  
  
I froze in place as she turned her eyes to look at me again.  
  
"I know bad things happened to you. I know you _did_ bad things," she said. "But you got better. And even if you don't want people to use the name, it's what you are. You're the Doctor. You heal people. You heal worlds. I don't think you should turn your back on that."  
  
Her words struck a chord inside of me. "I won't give up on everything," I said to her, keeping an assuring tone. "But I can't use that name. It's not mine."  
  
Her eyes turned sad. "Maybe we both need... 'psychological therapy'." Despite the sadness there was an amused glint in them. "My parents want me to come home with them and do therapy with Katara."  
  
"Not surprising," I said. "Katara might be able to help you hasten your recovery with her healing power."  
  
"I'll go," she confirmed. "But will you come and see me when I can walk?"  
  
"Of course," I answered. I allowed myself a soft smile. "In fact, Korra... I can do you one better," I added.  
  
"What?", she asked.  
  
"I'll take you all home," I answered. "And then... I'll be there to help you too."  
  
She gave me a look. "You... you'll stay? But it could be months..."  
  
I shook my head. "That's fine. I wasn't there for you before, Korra. This doesn't make up for that. Being there for you when you're in therapy can, though." As I said those words I infused them with deep and strong intent. I didn't mind the idea of staying stationary for a while. Not with the debt I owed to her for my failures. Even if it meant living in this world's Antarctic for all that time, it was the right thing.  
  
Korra looked at me and smiled. She leaned forward and put her arms around my shoulders to take me into a hug.  
  
It was going to be a long and grueling recovery, I had no doubt. And I would do everything I could to make it easier for her.  
  
But first... I had one final thing to do.  
  
  
  
  
The next morning Korra and I informed her parents of my offer. They accepted and arrangements were made to send their ship back on its own when it was time to leave. With that done, I went on my other remaining chore.  
  
I found Lord Zuko after he had a meeting with Tenzin and other White Lotus members. "Lord Zuko, my thanks again for saving me during the attack."  
  
"No thanks are necessary," he answered, bowing his head politely. "You more than made up for that by saving Korra's life. I thank you, sir."  
  
I nodded. "I owed it to her. But if you want to consider it a debt, I have a question to ask. And a favor."  
  
Zuko looked at me intently. "And that is?"  
  
I told him. He remained quiet for a moment. And then he nodded. "It is here, in fact. I'll take you to the lift."  
  
  
  
  
Earthbenders in White Lotus robes brought our unpowered earthen lift platform down into the land deep beneath Air Temple Island and Yue Bay. "Impressive," i murmured. "You must have pushed your ventilation capabilities to the limit."  
  
"It was the most secure location we could guarantee," Zuko said as the lift reached the bottom. "Please follow me."  
  
I did so. We went down a tunnel carved out of the deep stone of the earth, clearly by Earthbender hands. Eventually the tunnel widened into a cube-shaped chamber. Electric lights powered by external sources - presumably a Lightning-bending Firebender keeping a battery charged - flickered on.  
  
In the middle of the chamber was a metal square with a door. Zuko produced a key and opened it. Inside of the metal square was a single figure. He was kept standing. Rock was formed around his arms and legs, obscuring his limbs and holding him in place. I looked in the light and knew the man. We had never met, of course, but I knew him.  
  
I'd seen him in Korra's nightmare.  
  
"Zaheer, I presume," I remarked.  
  
The Red Lotus leader remained quiet for several moments. Just as Zuko looked at me, prepared to act, Zaheer's voice spoke out. "Welcome to my prison," he said. He opened his eyes. I could see grief and anger and loss written on them. "Have you come to kill me finally?"  
  
Zuko narrowed his eyes. "The White Lotus are not executioners." He looked to me. "We will watch if he tries anything. Please do not tarry." He turned and walked out.  
  
That left me along with this figure, this man who had haunted Korra's nightmares for weeks now. "Zaheer," I said, my voice level. "Do you know who I am?"  
  
He eyed me carefully. "I have heard of you," he said. "They call you the Doctor. A friend of the Avatar's."  
  
"Right on one count," I answered. A thin smile came to my face. It was not meant to re-assure. "I am Korra's friend, yes. As for my name... well, no. I am not the Doctor." The smile vanished from my face. "Much to your regret."  
  
Zaheer frowned and his eyes focused on me. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"What I mean is this." I drew closer. "The Doctor has rules. He has a _lot_ of rules, and when I used the Name I kept them. But I'm not the Doctor. _I don't follow the rules._ " My expression grew darker as I felt anger welling up within me. I thought of what he had done to people I thought of as friends "I have one. _Protect my friends._ And now you've tried to kill one of my friends _twice_."  
  
"You've talked to Dorje."  
  
"He admitted it, yes. Not that it was hard to figure out." I brought up my hands and grabbed Zaheer's face. "Now you _listen to me_ , and listen well. Korra is my friend. If you and your followers ever hurt her again, if you even _try_ to harm Korra again, _I_ will deal with you, and I'll make you miss this cave."  
  
"Your threats don't..."  
  
Zaheer's eyes grew wide as I opened my mind against his and pushed into it. He fought. He actually _attacked_ at feeling the connection, believing his spiritual training would prevail.  
  
Prevail against me. A Time Lord. Ha!  
  
I smirked slightly at that before I crushed his mental attack. He cried out in shock and surprise. "There is only one being on this planet who could hope to try that," I rasped. "And she's the one you nearly killed." With that boast I slammed through what passed for mental defenses and started forcing images into his mind. I showed him the things I could do to him, the ways I could get justice should Korra be harmed or threatened, and to ensure he never had a chance to hurt her again. I showed him the fates of those who harmed my friends, my Companions. The Source Wall. The deepest and darkest lands of Winter. All of the terrible places I could take him.  
  
His eyes were stuck wide from psychic shock and horror at what I had shown him. "Remember those images," I hissed. "And make sure your followers leave Korra alone. Or I'll introduce you all to _every one of them_." Through the link I let him feel my thoughts. My sense of purpose, my solid intention and capability to follow through on that threat.  
  
Zaheer stood there in his rock bindings, stunned into terrified silence. Through it I felt his regrets. His sadness. He had given _everything_ for his cause. He had lost his friends to it. He'd lost the woman he loved.  
  
The memories of John throbbed. In a way, Zaheer's sense of loss made me think of Janet.  
  
"Poor fool," I said to him. "You paid a terrible cost for your excess as well. A shame that you didn't show superior wisdom years ago."  
  
Zaheer's eyes smoldered in anger and fear. I ignored him and turned away. "This was the consequence of your choices," I said to him, gesturing at his confinement. "And I have shown you the consequences of further actions against Korra. _Remember them_ , Zaheer."  
  
I had nothing more to say. I left the cage.  
  
  
  
  
The Southern Water Tribe ship rested at the quayside of Air Temple Island. I stood beside after making sure I had the TARDIS secured in her hold and watched as Korra's friends made their goodbyes. She looked... well, not better. Even with White Lotus and RCPD guards everywhere on the quay and her father's lifeguard watching on the boat, I knew there would be a small fearful part of her wandering if the Red Lotus would try again.  
  
She didn't know about my visit to Zaheer or the promise I'd made on her behalf.  
  
I didn't intend to tell her.  
  
Her parents wheeled her up the gangplank. I remained behind long enough to speak to Tenzin. I gave him a beacon. "Call the TARDIS if you hear anything about the Red Lotus," I said.  
  
"I will," he pledged. "Are you going to stay with her...?"  
  
"Until she's well," I said. "Until she's well enough to tell me so."  
  
"Thank you." Tenzin offered me his head. "My mother will do her best to heal you both."  
  
I didn't openly react to that. I simply nodded.  
  
Mako and Bolin stepped up next. "Hey, thanks for..."  
  
"Ah ah ah," I interrupted, wagging my finger. "Don't thank me for saving Korra. You know I don't need that." I offered them each my hand for a shake. "Take care of yourselves, all right?"  
  
"You can write too, if you want," Bolin said. "I mean, I'd love a chance to get to write more, and I'll be writing Korra the entire time she's gone."  
  
"I'm certain she will look forward to your correspondence," I said. "I may indeed write you as well, if just to make sure you're not getting into trouble. The same for both of you. Take care, for Korra's sake eh?"  
  
"We will." Mako nodded. "And... um..."  
  
I almost said something about his awkward relationship with half of his team, but I decided not to humiliate the poor young man further. "Korra will be cared for, don't worry. Keep your mind clear, _detective_ , you'll need it."  
  
That got me a nod and a second handshake.  
  
That left Asami. She looked at me with a certain look in her eyes, like there was something she wanted to ask but was holding it back. "Can you let me know how Korra's doing?", she asked. "I'm worried about her."  
  
"I will. But do remember you have a company to run, eh? Responsibility and all that. Don't let worrying about Korra or other thoughts interfere."  
  
"I won't." Asami pursed her lips in thought. "Although, I wanted to ask..."  
  
I already had a feeling about what she was going to ask. I didn't frown at it. I didn't smile either. I was torn about the entire subject. "Focus on the now," I said, keeping her from asking the question. "I won't be leaving until Korra's ready for it, alright? We'll have plenty of time for your question later." Unable to stop myself, I added, "After you've made sure about what you're asking."  
  
She nodded at that. I could see a flicker of hope in her green eyes before she turned away.  
  
I exchanged goodbyes with Jinora and boarded the ship. I stood beside Korra and her family and waved goodbye with them.  
  
And like that, I began... not an exile. I wasn't traveling at the moment, but I was no longer giving up on the idea. I needed time. Time to think about who I was. Time to consider myself.  
  
Time to make sure I wouldn't be leaving a good friend alone in the worst time of her life.  
  
It was the only thing I could do. And as I stood there and watched the city slowly move further and further away, I knew one thing.  
  
I would be staying on this world until Korra was healed. _Completely_ healed. Only then could I legitimately have made up for failing her before.  
  
  



End file.
